Germany have appointed former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp as head coach on a four-year contract, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Friday.

The decision follows the departure of former head coach Julian Nagelsmann as the four-time World Cup winners look to rebuild after another disappointing tournament.

"The national team can connect us Germans like hardly anything else. That's exactly what makes this task so special for me," Klopp, who had been working as Red Bull's global head of football, said in a statement.

"I am grateful for everything I have experienced and learned in the last year and a half at Red Bull and for the openness that has made this agreement possible in the first place.

"Now I am looking forward to this special task in German football, which we will tackle together with humility and patience: to develop a team that fights for each other, that enjoys football and behind which the people of our country can rally with full conviction."

Klopp will be assisted by Peter Krawietz, Pep Lijnders and former Germany international Sven Bender.

The DFB also appointed former Germany defender Per Mertesacker, a member of the country's 2014 World Cup-winning side, as managing director for sport. He will succeed Andreas Rettig and has signed a contract running through to the 2030 World Cup.

"We've had very intense discussions. He was our ideal solution from the start," DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said.

"We at the DFB were unanimous in saying he was the candidate we had to talk to. Our talks with Juergen only strengthened our belief that he's the right man at the right time."

Germany's defeat by Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32 marked a third successive disappointing World Cup campaign for the four-time champions, following group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022. They last won the trophy in 2014.

Klopp will take up the role after ending his contract less than two years into his tenure at Red Bull.