Jurgen Klopp 'REJECTS chance to become new USA coach' with former Liverpool boss insisting he wants a break after ending his Anfield stay

Jurgen Klopp has rejected an approach made by US Soccer to take over coaching duties for the men's national team.

Initial reports from this morning indicated that contact was made with Klopp to gauge his interest after US Soccer fired Gregg Berhalter on Wednesday.

But now, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein, the 57-year-old German manager has rebuffed the chance to coach the Americans.

Berhalter was sacked late in the afternoon on Wednesday, just before kickoff of the Copa America semifinal between Uruguay and Colombia.

Klopp left his post as manager of Liverpool back in May after nine years in charge where he won the Champions League and the Premier League. 

'I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything,' Klopp said when announcing his exit back in January.

'But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take.

'It is that I am running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.'

US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker says work has already been put in place to find a 'serial winning coach' to take over the men's national team ahead of its push for the 2026 World Cup. 

'Clearly, there's still a lot of potential in the group and we have to turn out the performance and results, so that's what I'll be looking for and that'll be my absolute No. 1 priority,' Crocker told a group of reporters on Wednesday.

'All my energies and efforts will be going into that straight away.'

Crocker says that his ideal scenario is to have a replacement coach brought in for the upcoming September window of friendlies against Canada in Kansas City and New Zealand in Cincinnati.

Berhalter's future with the national team was plunged into doubt after the USA crashed out of Copa America with humiliating losses to Panama and Uruguay in the group stages.

That led to Wednesday's announcement that Berhalter would be leaving 'effective immediately'.

'I want to thank Gregg for his hard work and dedication to U.S. Soccer and our Men's National Team,' US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said.

'We are now focused on working with our Sporting Director Matt Crocker and leveraging his experience at the highest levels of the sport to ensure we find the right person to lead the USMNT into a new era of on-field success.'

In a statement sent to Mail Sport, Berhalter took responsibility for the disappointing Copa America campaign: 'I want to thank the US Soccer Federation for entrusting me to lead this team for the past five years — representing our country is a tremendous honor and I am proud of the identity we have built on and off the field.

'It was very gratifying watching this team improve over the years and I remain grateful for the lifetime bonds created with our players, coaches, and staff members.

'The Copa America result is extremely disappointing and I take full responsibility for our performance. Our approach and process was always focused on the 2026 World Cup and I remain confident that this group will be one of the great stories in 2026.'