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Real Madrid’s decision to part ways with Xabi Alonso last week has blown the managerial market wide open – and thrust Jurgen Klopp straight back into the eye of the storm.
Los Blancos confirmed that Alonso had departed by “mutual agreement”, with former team‑mate Alvaro Arbeloa stepping up from the B team as interim boss. The move came on the back of a damaging Supercopa defeat to Barcelona and months of reported dressing‑room tension.
In the hours and days that followed, speculation around Klopp went into overdrive. Reports in Germany and Spain claim that the former Liverpool manager – now serving as Head of Global Soccer for the Red Bull group – is viewed as a leading candidate if Real decide to appoint a permanent coach in the summer.
Fabrizio Romano has somewhat cooled links and stressed that the only way Klopp lands up at Real Madrid is if he pushes for the move himself.
There has also been reports that the Liverpool legend has been learning Spanish since his Anfield exit. However, speaking in an interview with the Athletic, Klopp has once again dismissed any Real Madrid speculation and asserted that he “doesn’t want to be somewhere else”:
“I know I can coach a football team, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it until my last day,” the German said.
“I wanted to do something different. Red Bull gave me an opportunity to find a role which we have been defining together, step by step. I’m in a place as a person where I’m completely at peace with where I am. I don’t want to be somewhere else.”
“I’ve got to know a lot of people who I didn’t know before. I’ve been to a lot of business meetings and learned words that I never knew before,” he said. “It’s been a good time. One year in, five years of experience gained.”
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