BERLIN: Former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has defended his decision to join Red Bull as global head of football from next year following criticism from German fans, saying the move was “exceptional” for him.

Klopp, who ended a successful nine-year spell at Liverpool last season, also coached Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, with many of those clubs’ supporters angered by his decision to join Red Bull.

Mainz fans, during a league match earlier in October, even unfurled banners expressing their anger at Klopp’s decision. Klopp spent 18 years as a player and then coach of Mainz.

Many German fans object to the ownership structure of Red Bull-controlled clubs, notably RB Leipzig, where the energy drink maker helped them, through investment injections, navigate the lower divisions to reach the Bundesliga in 2016.

“You can’t make your decision based on reactions,” Klopp told former Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos’ podcast, released on Wednesday.

“I’m 57 years old and I can still work for a few more years. But I didn’t see myself on the sidelines at the moment. It was clear to me that I would do something. And then Red Bull arrived. For me, that’s is exceptional.”

Klopp joined Liverpool in October 2015 and won the Champions League, their first English league title since 1990, the Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield during his tenure.

He also led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, a German Cup and a Champions League final in 2013.

Klopp will not be involved in day-to-day operations but will act as an advisor to Red Bull-owned clubs in Germany, the United States, Brazil and Austria.

“I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. I love all my old clubs,” Klopp said. “But I don’t know what I could have done to make everyone happy.”