The Saudi Pro League club, currently managed by Sérgio Conceição, who took charge in October 2025, are understood to be assessing their options as speculation grows around the Portuguese head coach's future at the Jeddah club. It is in that context that Klopp's name has re-emerged.
Jacobs reports that the interest from Al-Ittihad is genuine, but nothing is moving. Club insiders view Klopp as the perfect person to one day take over in Jeddah — but they do not believe that day is close. The 58-year-old is said to be content in his position as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, a role he took up at the start of 2025 after stepping away from football management entirely at the end of his final season at Liverpool in 2024.
Klopp had been linked with the Real Madrid job earlier this season as well as with Al-Ittihad, but has not wavered publicly from his stated desire to remain in his directorial capacity rather than return to the touchline.
His nine years at Liverpool, during which he won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups, left him one of the most sought-after figures in the sport.
Al-Ittihad, who are backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and won the Saudi Pro League title in 2024-25 under Laurent Blanc before the Frenchman was dismissed at the start of this season, see landing a manager of Klopp's profile as transformative.
For now, the ambition remains exactly that.