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Jurgen Klopp’s name has finally been taken off the Real Madrid carousel – at least for this summer.
Spanish TV show El Chiringuito has reported that, while Klopp remains hugely admired inside the Bernabeu, he is “no longer being considered” as an option to replace Alvaro Arbeloa at the end of the season. Their line is that Real Madrid have now ruled him out of the running for the upcoming summer, despite months of speculation and internal lobbying for his appointment.
According to the programme, there has been sustained interest from figures close to president Florentino Perez – including adviser Anas Laghrari – but that Klopp is currently off the club’s shortlist.
In the clip, the message is essentially that Madrid “like Klopp a lot” and see him as a top coach, yet he is “not an option for this summer” and has been definitively discarded as a candidate for the post. There is no indication in those segments that negotiations are advanced or that he is waiting in the wings if Arbeloa goes.
Jurgen Klopp himself addressed all the speculation earlier this month, jokingly saying on MagentaTV:
“It’s good that we’re talking about this,” Klopp said.
“When is a story a story? When someone takes a sheet of paper and writes something on it? Or when there’s actually something to it?”
“Has Real Madrid ever called me? Not once, not a single time in my managerial career.”
“I’ll take over at Atletico Madrid as well, preferably at the same time. Sorry Madrid, you’ll have to ring first!”
El Chiringuito go on to say that Real Madrid are still widely expected to seek a successor to Álvaro Arbeloa, but no final decision has been made over his position, and he is due to sit down with president Florentino Perez in the coming days.