Liverpool may have a new manager next season, but it doesn’t look like being Jurgen Klopp.
With pressure building by the week on Arne Slot, there has been a host of managers linked with taking over at Anfield.
Xabi Alonso is most heavily linked with Liverpool, but there have been plenty of other names floated.
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Will Xabi Alonso be Liverpool manager by the start of the 2026/27 season?
If no, where will he be instead?
Xabi Alonso pictured during Real Madrid's La Liga match against Real Betis at the Bernabeu (Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto
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Some fans have suggested a Klopp return isn’t outside the realms of possibility, but his own words on the prospect of a return to management give little in the way of encouragement.
Jurgen Klopp is enjoying life away from Liverpool
When the German bid farewell 18 months ago, the emotions ran high.
After almost nine years on the sideline at Anfield, he decided it was time to call it quits.
Klopp was linked with Real Madrid recently, but he doesn’t have an interest in going there, or anywhere else for that matter.
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He tells RTL Sport: “Since I stopped at Liverpool, I haven’t had any contact with Real Madrid – not even once. And that isn’t necessary, because I enjoy what I’m doing right now so much that I’m not sitting around waiting for something to come along that might be ‘better.’
“And I have to say: even though I work a lot, I really enjoy this new sense of self-determination. I can actually say, for example, that if I’m not there sometimes — and as a coach you can’t do that, because the matchdays are scheduled and you always have to be there — and not just be there, but be there 100%.
“And the fact that it isn’t like that for me at the moment, I’m really enjoying it. It’s nice to be able to say that.”
Do you think Jurgen Klopp will re-join Liverpool?
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final
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Klopp has said he wouldn’t manage an English club that wasn’t Liverpool. It left the door ajar for a return, and the replacement chat of this season pointed to that being a possibility next season.
But Klopp’s current role at Red Bull is a breath of fresh air for him, and it doesn’t sound like he will be taking a manager role again for some time. He deserves to enjoy that extra bit of freedom he mentions.
Liverpool have rehired a manager just once
The prospect of seeing Klopp back at Liverpool is exciting. He gave us some of the best memories a fan can have.
It would, however, be unusual for the Reds to go back to a former manager.
They have done so just once, with Kenny Dalglish. His wildly successful first stint at the helm was followed up by a shorter spell 20 years later.
Liverpool v Chelsea - FA Cup Final
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Other than that, Liverpool haven’t tended to look backwards when making new hires.
They might make an exception for one of the all-time greats to take charge at Anfield. Not now, but maybe in the future?
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