Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp has been linked with the Real Madrid vacancy after Xabi Alonso was fired, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher giving short shrift to the idea
14:43, 20 Jan 2026
Jamie Carragher appears on Monday Night Football.
Jamie Carragher appears on Monday Night Football.(Image: Sky Sports // YouTube)
Jamie Carragher has suggested it is hard to see the former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in charge of Real Madrid, despite links emerging to the German after Xabi Alonso was fired.
Klopp has a job with the Red Bull group that he enjoys and he is not perhaps the obvious fit at a club that values superstars and individuals so heavily. Nonetheless, plenty of head coaches have found the allure of the Spanish capital too large to turn down.
"I just don’t think Jurgen Klopp is a Real Madrid manager," Carragher said on Monday Night Football. "I just don’t see that in terms of pressing and energy, it just doesn’t seem to suit them."
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Instead, he suggested managers who are more willing to let the players express themselves without such a pressing system being implemented, including the former Everton coach Roberto Martinez.
Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane have done well with Real Madrid in recent times, with both known to be more relaxed in terms of their approach to training and leniency with star players.
Klopp has already distanced himself from the role despite reports in Germany initially suggesting that he would be open to holding talks regarding the position.
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp(Image: Getty Images)
He was critical of Real Madrid letting Alonso leave just a few months into the job and then went on to hint that he might not return to coaching at all, whether that is at the Bernabeu or elsewhere.
"I’m in a place, as a person, where I’m completely at peace with where I am," Klopp said. "I don’t want to be somewhere else.
"I don’t get up and excited if Real Madrid are showing interest if they would be, but it’s the media
"Do I want to coach again? At the moment, I would say no, but I cannot say never, never, never. I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know."
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Alonso, meanwhile, could wait until the summer to make his next move. The Spaniard's stock remains high after winning the league with Bayer Leverkusen, where he worked with Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
The former Liverpool midfielder is not going to be short of options at the end of the season, with speculation among some Reds fans that he could return to Anfield if results and performances do not pick up for Arne Slot.
Liverpool.com says: Klopp going to Real Madrid doesn't seem likely on the surface, but if that job can't entice him back to management, what will? For now, it seems that he is more than content with the role that he has, which has much less pressure.