Rory McIlroy may be a well-known Manchester United fan – but that wouldn’t stop him welcoming advice from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke is a Liverpool season ticket holder and has suggested enlisting the popular German coach ahead of September’s tournament.
“I think Jurgen Klopp is great. I mean, his personality, his interviews, his energy, he’s fantastic,” McIlroy said today. “If that’s what Darren wants, if Darren wants to get him in to try to help in some way, that would be fantastic.
“It would be great to spend some time with him and I think it would be a great thing for the team.”
McIlroy was speaking ahead of this week’s Irish Open, which his charitable foundation is hosting.
The focus is very much on #DDFIrishOpen this week for @McIlroyRory. He's focused on a win this week @roryfoundation pic.twitter.com/E2JRB52pzU
— DDF Irish Open (@DDFIrishOpen) May 17, 2016
To fundraise for the foundation and indulge his own interest, he held an open evening with former United manager Alex Ferguson in Dublin last night.
“It was a great thrill to share the stage with him,” the four-time major winner said. “As a Man-United fan, to be able to listen to Sir Alex and listen to him talking about stories about him winning the Champions League and even starting at Man-United, the dark days, and everything that happened in between, I was just as intrigued as the audience were out there when he was speaking last night.
Sir Alex makes great points about complacency; better than any inspirational Insta. Looking forward to @DDFIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/uWW6663IQY
— Emma Williams (@emmawilliamser) May 17, 2016
“United not making the Champions League, it’s obviously not ideal, but hopefully they can bounce back with a good season next season and get themselves back in there, so we’ll see.”
McIlroy also said the Europe team were looking further afield than football for motivational advice, with Paul O’Connell also being mooted as a possible speaker.
“Yeah, actually, I spent a bit of time with Paul O’Connell in Barbados a couple weeks ago, and I had a really great chat with him one night over dinner about how professional he was and obviously his success in his career and everything,” he said.
“I really enjoyed that. I feel like if we could get Paul in to talk about a few things, it would really benefit the team.”
Between gegenpressing and the fear of God – the US Ryder Cup team won’t know what’s hit them.
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