Jurgen Klopp has already given Leeds United a “very interesting” Red Bull verdict

Much has been said and written about Red Bull’s purchase of a minority stake in Leeds United this week. It is an attractive deal and Whites chairman Paraag Marathe described the partnership as a “historic milestone” for the club.

The energy drink brand invested in United just days after the club missed out on promotion in the Championship play-off final. The Whites said the multi-year deal will “bring in new commercial revenue as well as additional capital investment” and will come into force at the start of the 2024/25 season.

Red Bull, who will be United’s first shirt sponsor, owns a number of football clubs around the world, including RB Leipzig in Germany’s Bundesliga, Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg and MLS’s New York Red Bulls, as well as Brazil’s Red Bull Bragantino . They have also invested in ice hockey, extreme sports, motor sports and two Formula 1 teams.

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For Premier League heavyweights Liverpool, there will be intrigue in United’s Red Bull arrangement. The Merseyside club have forged an unofficial link with two of their other clubs, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, in recent years. Naby Keita, Brahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino have all headed to Anfield via the Red Bull network at one point or another, while Jurgen Klopp’s former assistant Pep Lijnders has just taken over as manager at Red Bull Salzburg.

The Reds traveled to both Leipzig and Salzburg to play pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2022/23 season. Speaking ahead of the warm-up match in Austria, former Liverpool boss Klopp told LFCTV: “What Red Bull are doing is a really interesting project, I have to say. The team is incredibly young but incredibly skilled.

“Again, it kind of changes every year, they sell players, but still a good team. It’s very interesting what they do. The philosophy of football is not too far from ours.

“So it’s going to be intense, there’s going to be big press everywhere, there’s going to be back press, we have to find solutions and that’s why we’re here.”

Some United supporters have expressed concern over the Red Bull deal as the “really exciting project” heads to Elland Road, albeit in a smaller, more limited capacity. The Whites insist their name and logo will remain unchanged, unlike other clubs in their portfolio such as RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.