Jurgen Klopp's wife Ulla Sandrock has been a key voice behind some of the toughest and life-changing decisions that the German tactician has taken.
Reports indicate that Ulla convinced her husband to look away from the advances of the Red Devils in 2013, and subsequently, 2 years on, he was appointed manager of Liverpool in 2015.
Jurgen Klopp has also pointed to her advice being the reason for him opting to pen a contract extension with Liverpool in 2022.
In the past, Ulla Sandrock has expressed concerns over how football management has taken a toll on her husband, particularly during his final season at Borussia Dortmund.
Jurgen Klopp shockingly announced that he will exit Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, signaling the culmination of his time in England and maybe, with management.
This could give Klopp and wife Ulla enough time for each other, with the couple said to be living in the seaside town of Formby in an apartment previously owned by Steven Gerrard.
They settled down nicely into the area and impacted the vicinity after moving there in 2015, with Jurgen Klopp regularly seen at quiz nights in local pubs and offering to help teams with their answers.
Meanwhile, in April 2020, Ulla Sandrock was seen carrying out humanitarian works by sharing £1,000 worth of food vouchers with Waitrose staff as an appreciation for working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jurgen Klopp's wife handed out a total of 20 vouchers worth £50 each to each of the store's workers who were present on the shop floor at the time.
The hearty gesture was loved by the staff of the store, with one telling the Liverpool Echo that Ulla Sandrock carried out the activity without trying to gain public attention.
The staff said: “This was an incredible thing to do. Typically, Ulla didn't want to make a fuss, or receive any recognition, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve.”
Klopp had wanted to exit Liverpool before the end of his initial contract, however, he changed his mind due to his wife's advice.
Jurgen Klopp made it known that his decision to remain at Anfield was solely due to his wife convincing him to remain at Liverpool, and as aforementioned she has played a big role in some of the decisions he has taken in his coaching career.
Speaking concerning the role played by Ulla Sandrock in convincing him to remain at Anfield in 2022, Klopp said:
“I stay for another two years… and only me. No, all my coaches will as well, which is the most important actually.
“Why? Is now the question. Because Ulla wants to stay and as a good husband what are you doing when your wife wants to stay? You are staying.”
“The most important contract in my life I signed is the one with Ulla.
“That's where it started again. We sat in the kitchen at the table and Ulla said, 'I can't see us leaving in 2024.”
Jurgen Klopp also made it known that if Ulla Sandrock wanted the family to pack and leave Liverpool, he wouldn't hesitate.
The 56-year-old said: “What is very important and is probably the most important - because I could not work against that and wouldn't want to work against it - is that my family, in this case especially Ulla, she just loves it here.
“If she would say, 'Honestly, I love the football and I love watching it but I actually want to go home', then we would go, that's the truth. She started it and here we are.”
His decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season can be linked to his wife, having over time talked about her influence in his career.
Meanwhile, as earlier mentioned, Ulla Sandrock convinced husband Klopp not to take the job at Manchester United in 2013, following the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.
According to Liverpool great Phil Thompson, Jurgen Klopp opted not to manage the Red Devils after Ulla made it known that she had a bad feeling about the Red Devils.
“I interviewed Klopp for Sky, and I asked if he and Liverpool were created for each other. He looked at me and asked 'Why?”
“Then Klopp told me he could have taken over Manchester United, but his wife said it wasn't right.
“When Liverpool arrived, his wife said it was right. There is something strange there.'
“It is as if he's created for Liverpool.”
Klopp remained at Borussia Dortmund for two extra seasons, before departing in the summer of 2015.
By October 2015, Jurgen Klopp picked up the Liverpool job and he has gone on to do great things.
Ulla Sandrock had been dubbed The First Lady of Bundesliga in her home country as a result of her charity work in Germany and Kenya.
The German woman worked as a teacher and hospital worker in Nairobi for 3 years.
She had settled in Mainz, western Germany, where Jurgen Klopp was living while he was working as the manager of the football club in the city, Mainz 05.
Klopp's wife is a children's novelist, and her book Tom and the Magic Football, was published in 2008.
The story is about an 11-year-old boy who finds a magic football in his attic, which turns him into a talented footballer.
Ulla Sandrock later wrote a sequel to the book in 2010, set in Africa, with Klopp also revealing that the book is “like Harry Potter but about football. there's no flying on his f****** stick.”
Ulla is very conscious about the well-being of her man and she made it known during Jurgen Klopp's time at Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp made it known that he had to have a conversation with her, as she felt football management was taking a toll on him.
The Liverpool boss said: “We had to sit it out, dig deep, and hold on until the bell rang in Bremen at the end of the final match before the winter break.
“Then I went home and my wife said I'd finally completely lost it – because I was in an incredibly good mood, euphoric.”
Ulla is the second wife of Jurgen Klopp, having been married to Sabine Klopp for 12 years, but the pair went separate ways in 2001, and the 56-year-old got married to Ulla in 2005.
Klopp met the social worker at Munich's Oktoberfest in 2005, where she was working as a waitress.
Astonishingly, they moved in together after getting acquainted with each other for just 3 days.
Jurgen Klopp and Ulla Sandrock have no children together, but they have sons from their respective first marriages.
Manager Klopp has a son from his first marriage, whose name is Marc and he used to play for German side Borussia Dortmund.
However, he had to retire in 2015 as a result of injuries. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp had to become the stepfather to Ulla's son Dennis after their wedding.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager also shared in March 2023, that he was set to welcome his grandchild, before subsequently informing the fans that he was finally a grandfather following the birth of his grandchild, terming the summer holiday as an “absolutely perfect summer”.
“Finally. I already look like one and now I am one, it's cool,' Klopp said when asked about becoming a grandfather", he said.
“No, it's perfect. Absolutely perfect summer."
Jurgen Klopp also added that it was the most beautiful thing he had “experienced in the last 30-odd years.”
Reports indicate that Ulla convinced her husband to look away from the advances of the Red Devils in 2013, and subsequently, 2 years on, he was appointed manager of Liverpool in 2015.
Jurgen Klopp has also pointed to her advice being the reason for him opting to pen a contract extension with Liverpool in 2022.
In the past, Ulla Sandrock has expressed concerns over how football management has taken a toll on her husband, particularly during his final season at Borussia Dortmund.
Jurgen Klopp shockingly announced that he will exit Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season, signaling the culmination of his time in England and maybe, with management.
This could give Klopp and wife Ulla enough time for each other, with the couple said to be living in the seaside town of Formby in an apartment previously owned by Steven Gerrard.
They settled down nicely into the area and impacted the vicinity after moving there in 2015, with Jurgen Klopp regularly seen at quiz nights in local pubs and offering to help teams with their answers.
Meanwhile, in April 2020, Ulla Sandrock was seen carrying out humanitarian works by sharing £1,000 worth of food vouchers with Waitrose staff as an appreciation for working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jurgen Klopp's wife handed out a total of 20 vouchers worth £50 each to each of the store's workers who were present on the shop floor at the time.
The hearty gesture was loved by the staff of the store, with one telling the Liverpool Echo that Ulla Sandrock carried out the activity without trying to gain public attention.
The staff said: “This was an incredible thing to do. Typically, Ulla didn't want to make a fuss, or receive any recognition, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve.”
Klopp had wanted to exit Liverpool before the end of his initial contract, however, he changed his mind due to his wife's advice.
Jurgen Klopp made it known that his decision to remain at Anfield was solely due to his wife convincing him to remain at Liverpool, and as aforementioned she has played a big role in some of the decisions he has taken in his coaching career.
Speaking concerning the role played by Ulla Sandrock in convincing him to remain at Anfield in 2022, Klopp said:
“I stay for another two years… and only me. No, all my coaches will as well, which is the most important actually.
“Why? Is now the question. Because Ulla wants to stay and as a good husband what are you doing when your wife wants to stay? You are staying.”
“The most important contract in my life I signed is the one with Ulla.
“That's where it started again. We sat in the kitchen at the table and Ulla said, 'I can't see us leaving in 2024.”
Jurgen Klopp also made it known that if Ulla Sandrock wanted the family to pack and leave Liverpool, he wouldn't hesitate.
The 56-year-old said: “What is very important and is probably the most important - because I could not work against that and wouldn't want to work against it - is that my family, in this case especially Ulla, she just loves it here.
“If she would say, 'Honestly, I love the football and I love watching it but I actually want to go home', then we would go, that's the truth. She started it and here we are.”
His decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season can be linked to his wife, having over time talked about her influence in his career.
Meanwhile, as earlier mentioned, Ulla Sandrock convinced husband Klopp not to take the job at Manchester United in 2013, following the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.
According to Liverpool great Phil Thompson, Jurgen Klopp opted not to manage the Red Devils after Ulla made it known that she had a bad feeling about the Red Devils.
“I interviewed Klopp for Sky, and I asked if he and Liverpool were created for each other. He looked at me and asked 'Why?”
“Then Klopp told me he could have taken over Manchester United, but his wife said it wasn't right.
“When Liverpool arrived, his wife said it was right. There is something strange there.'
“It is as if he's created for Liverpool.”
Klopp remained at Borussia Dortmund for two extra seasons, before departing in the summer of 2015.
By October 2015, Jurgen Klopp picked up the Liverpool job and he has gone on to do great things.
Ulla Sandrock had been dubbed The First Lady of Bundesliga in her home country as a result of her charity work in Germany and Kenya.
The German woman worked as a teacher and hospital worker in Nairobi for 3 years.
She had settled in Mainz, western Germany, where Jurgen Klopp was living while he was working as the manager of the football club in the city, Mainz 05.
Klopp's wife is a children's novelist, and her book Tom and the Magic Football, was published in 2008.
The story is about an 11-year-old boy who finds a magic football in his attic, which turns him into a talented footballer.
Ulla Sandrock later wrote a sequel to the book in 2010, set in Africa, with Klopp also revealing that the book is “like Harry Potter but about football. there's no flying on his f****** stick.”
Ulla is very conscious about the well-being of her man and she made it known during Jurgen Klopp's time at Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp made it known that he had to have a conversation with her, as she felt football management was taking a toll on him.
The Liverpool boss said: “We had to sit it out, dig deep, and hold on until the bell rang in Bremen at the end of the final match before the winter break.
“Then I went home and my wife said I'd finally completely lost it – because I was in an incredibly good mood, euphoric.”
Ulla is the second wife of Jurgen Klopp, having been married to Sabine Klopp for 12 years, but the pair went separate ways in 2001, and the 56-year-old got married to Ulla in 2005.
Klopp met the social worker at Munich's Oktoberfest in 2005, where she was working as a waitress.
Astonishingly, they moved in together after getting acquainted with each other for just 3 days.
Jurgen Klopp and Ulla Sandrock have no children together, but they have sons from their respective first marriages.
Manager Klopp has a son from his first marriage, whose name is Marc and he used to play for German side Borussia Dortmund.
However, he had to retire in 2015 as a result of injuries. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp had to become the stepfather to Ulla's son Dennis after their wedding.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager also shared in March 2023, that he was set to welcome his grandchild, before subsequently informing the fans that he was finally a grandfather following the birth of his grandchild, terming the summer holiday as an “absolutely perfect summer”.
“Finally. I already look like one and now I am one, it's cool,' Klopp said when asked about becoming a grandfather", he said.
“No, it's perfect. Absolutely perfect summer."
Jurgen Klopp also added that it was the most beautiful thing he had “experienced in the last 30-odd years.”