Justin Kluivert talks life in the Bundesliga, hanging with USMNT star Tyler Adams, and having a famous father
Kluivert sat down with ¡Qué Golazo! and talked about adjusting to life with RB Leipzig

As RB Leipzig prepare for Stuttgart on Sunday and do everything possible to reduce Bayern Munich's lead in the Bundesliga, Justin Kluivert knows that the task is a difficult one but he thinks his side will fight until the end as they continue to make the title race an interesting affair. "A club like Bayern has a lot of experience, but RB Leipzig, we have a lot of great young talent," he says, speaking to ¡Qué Golazo! And CBS Sports.
Kluivert, on a season-long loan at Leipzig from Serie A side Roma, arrived in Germany last October and scored his first goal in the Bundesliga against Bayern, as part of a thrilling 3-3 result back in December. "I really like this league. It's one of the biggest competitions to play on and to play for one of the best teams in the Bundesliga is a joy. I'm enjoying it."
It was a tough outcome last time around but hopefully this weekend will tell a different story for Kluivert as they look for three points. "We are hungry and you can see it in the games also," he says,"...and that's what you see in the Bundesliga."
You can catch the whole interview on the ¡Qué Golazo! YouTube channel, along with many more exciting interviews, previews, recaps and more soccer coverage from around the globe.
It's amazing to think that Kluivert is only 21 years old as he has already played in three major European leagues. From his first days with Ajax, making his debut in 2017 and scoring 10 goals in 30 appearances to Serie A at Roma in 2018 and now RB Leipzig, his career still has plenty, plenty more to offer. Playing in all these three leagues gives him a solid foundation. "The Bundesliga is right in between both [Eredivisie and Serie A] as Serie A is defensively tactical, and Eredivisie is more attacking so the Bundesliga is in the middle," says Kluivert. "The game goes very fast to the front and to the back. I like that also. There's more space here than Serie A and that's good for attacking players."
For him, working under the talented, much-sought-after manager Julian Nagelssman also allows him to discover more about his game. "It's wonderful. He's a trainer with a lot of ambition and what's done for his career is very nice. For a trainer, he's very young and to work with someone with so much creativity and so much passion is nice. I'm young so it's always good to have a younger coach, he understands the youth, I think in my opinion a little bit more."
He also has good words for his teammate, USMNT international Tyler Adams, who he's very close with. "I love playing with Tyler. He's my boy. We hang around," smiles Kluivert. "He's a great player but also a good guy. We're good friends."
Teammates and manager aside, the closest relationship he has in the game is clearly with his father, the great Patrick Kluivert. "We talk every two days," says the younger Kluivert. "We talk about, not only football, about everything. He's someone I looked up to when I was a little kid and still I look up to because he has made good and bad steps in his career, and I can learn of, and that is something special, to have been given a father like this. We have a very good relationship."
If there was a penalty shootout, however, he says his father would win, but only out of respect. "I'll give him the credit."
For now, Kluivert wants to focus purely on helping RB Leipzig maintain a Champions League spot and hopefully achieve the improbable but not impossible task of dismantling Bayern Munich. But he will also do everything he can to develop and flourish as not just a good player, but a star and maybe even reach the heights of his father.
This however, is about Justin's path and no one else's. "Everything that I go through, I put it in a backpack and you never know when you need it and then you can pull it out," he says. "In a matter of years, you have more in your backpack and then you can take a lot of things out. So I just hope to play at a very high level. I'm 21 right now, I'm for sure not at my top, so I just keep working and then, you'll never know what might happen. We will see, but I'll just keep working hard and be dedicated to what I love and what I do."
















