Jürgen Klopp has declared he hopes Mohamed Salah will stay at Liverpool, saying that Arne Slot’s team may now be “the best-balanced team in the world”.

The former Liverpool manager, 57, was introduced as the new global head of soccer for Red Bull in an extensive press briefing in Salzburg, where he was asked about a range of subjects, including the opposition in Germany to the energy drink brand’s acquisition of RB Leipzig as well as the futures of Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

But it was on the subject of Salah that Klopp was definitive. Asked by an Egyptian reporter whether he wanted the star of his Liverpool era to stay at Anfield beyond the expiration of his current deal, Klopp said: “I hope he stays. He’s the biggest striker LFC have had in many years. They were other really good strikers too … he’s a fantastic player and a fantastic human being. He’s an outstanding athlete. He is the best ambassador your country could have. I hope he stays at Liverpool.”

He joked that Van Dijk could sign another four-year contract and then play for New York Red Bulls when he was “41 or 42” – adding that the Dutchman should not underestimate the standard of Major League Soccer. He berated the British media for its criticisms of Alexander-Arnold. Asked if the Liverpudlian might leave for Real Madrid, Klopp said: “He could finally learn to defend. I cannot believe you still have that discussion! It’s so poor. I have watched a few press conferences when [Slot] was asked about it.

“And, yes, he didn’t play well against Manchester United [earlier this month] but if you could make such a fuss when he does play well as when he doesn’t that would be a cool planet.”

Klopp also expressed surprise that a judgment is imminent in the next few months in the epic legal case between the Premier League and Manchester City over the 100-plus charges that – depending on the verdict – could necessitate the rewriting of recent history. On the question of whether it might change his own legacy – one Premier League title in 2020 – Klopp said that he would have a victory parade in the garden of his new home in Majorca.

“I haven’t spent a lot of time in Majorca because I am always flying around the place,” he said. “If it would happen I told all the people who wanted to just book a flight [to Majorca] I will buy the beer. Whatever we have to celebrate we do it. We would have our own parade in my garden. Oh god, what a headline. We will see. I didn’t follow it all. [It is] Two months [away]? Wow.”

Klopp has also faced questions from the German media on the right of Red Bull to acquire RB Leipzig in spite of the German tradition for majority fan-owned clubs. There are now six clubs in the Red Bull portfolio with the recent acquisition of a share in Paris FC. In Austria, Red Bull Salzburg have won the league 14 times since Red Bull acquired them in 2005 – although they are not the current champions. Red Bull have clubs in New York, Japan and Red Bull Bragantino, from the state of São Paulo in Brazil.

Klopp said on more than once occasion that he believed supporters in Leipzig deserved to watch a club in the Bundesliga and the Champions League – as they are now. “If you want to understand you can understand and if you don’t you will not,” he said of the criticism. “I was in the stadium at Leipzig and I am pretty sure I will feel the same in Bragantino, in Paris and In New York. The people really enjoyed being part of an interesting project and interesting journey.

“Who decides what people can do? If there was no Leipzig, who would they support in their city and in their region? Would they all go to Magdeburg [another Saxony region club] in the second division? I think the region deserved this kind of thing. After nine years in England you cannot be the same person. I had investors [in Liverpool] in England and I can’t change that. Nobody thought about that. They have the same discussions there [in England] about ownership and about ticket price. You cannot come back and have the same view as everyone else who never saw another [type of] football. I respect other opinions, but in my opinion people deserve the best possible.”