Jurgen Klopp funding £500k Liverpool investment as club legend shows class | Football | Sport

Jurgen Klopp is said to be funding a new £500,000 padel facility in Liverpool. The Reds icon’s son Marc is behind a four-man group who have been awarded a contract to build a padel club in the city.

Disused tennis courts will be redeveloped into a vibrant padel club. The sport is one of the fastest-growing games in the world. Klopp is a huge fan and recently said: “Padel is, besides football, the best game I’ve ever played. I’ve only known it in the last five years or so but since then I’m really addicted to it. It’s really fun to play.”

Klopp left Liverpool after nearly nine years at the end of the season. However, he was granted the Freedom of the City in 2022 and pledged upon his departure: “If the city needs me, I’m always there.”

The 57-year-old will now make good on that promise by making a major investment in the city’s sporting facilities. It is claimed that he will fund the £500k project to build padel facilities on 1.5 acres of land in the Wavertree area.

Marc Klopp’s Padel FC is set to be granted a 25-year lease by Liverpool City Council. The site is currently occupied by disused tennis courts and a car park. Other members of Klopp Jnr’s group are the former Bristol City player Bradley Orr, Michael Smith and Carl Spellman.

Padel is a combination of tennis, badminton and squash. Players compete with a flat-surfaced racket on a small court with walls. It is generally played in a doubles format. Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are also known to be big fans of the sport.

In 2023, Liverpool City Council asked for expressions of interest in developing a padel scheme on the site. Padel FC was one of two bidding parties that presented plans to the council in September last year.

Klopp’s funding of the project continues his legacy in Liverpool. As head coach of the Premier League club, he won the Premier League, Champions League and a host of domestic trophies.

Since leaving Liverpool, he has taken on a new role as head of global football at Red Bull. He oversees all sporting matters within the group’s multi-club project, including RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

Klopp was replaced in the Liverpool dugout by Arne Slot, who has since gone on to win the Premier League in his first season.