Real Madrid have sacked Xabi Alonso and replaced him with reserve team manager Alvaro Arbeloa, but Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp continues to be linked with a Bernabéu player.
Jurgen Klopp is currently Red Bull’s head of global football (Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp is a candidate to manage Real Madrid, with the Liverpool icon reportedly open to the role. Real announced the sacking of Xabi Alonso on Monday, but the Spaniard endured a stormy reign that saw him lose against rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Alonso was replaced by reserve team boss Alvaro Arbeloa. However, it is unclear whether the former Liverpool and West Ham right-back is working on an interim basis or has become Real’s new permanent manager.
The idea that Los Blancos could make another appointment to get their season back is also not ruled out. Real are currently second in La Liga, four points behind Barcelona.
Klopp, 58, has emerged as a potential candidate for the vacant role, with Sky Sports reporting that he would seriously consider the 15-time European champions if he came forward. The German is currently Red Bull’s head of world football and has a long-term contract with the company, but the idea of a hot seat at the Bernabeu is said to hold great appeal.
Immediately after Alonso’s sacking was confirmed, Klopp appeared as a pundit on Austrian broadcaster ServusTV On and gave his verdict on Madrid’s situation in a message to club leaders. “(My phone) is actually (ringing) — though not from Madrid,” he replied. “But I’m sure there were some people who felt the need to contact me directly about this!”
read more: Xabi Alonso breaks his silence on Real Madrid’s sacking, sends message to playersread more: Kylian Mbappé slams ‘undignified’ gesture towards Barcelona after Real Madrid defeat
“First of all, I think this is another sign that something is not going right at the moment. Given how great a coach he has shown in the last two years at Leverkusen – given his age and the number of jobs he has held – to be forced to leave Madrid after just six months, it shows a few things.”
Klopp has not returned to the touchline since leaving Liverpool in 2024. The former Borussia Dortmund manager said at the time that he did not intend to return to coaching for at least a year as he was “depleted of energy”.
In October, Klopp appeared on the podcast The Diary of a CEO and admitted that a return to the dugout was “theoretically possible”. “I said I would never coach another team, another team in England. I mean if it happened it would be Liverpool…well, in theory it’s possible,” he replied.
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Jurgen Klopp is open to taking charge of Real Madrid (Image: Ryan Pierse – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
“I’m 58 years old, which means I could make a decision in a few years, but I don’t know. Do I have to make it today? Then I won’t be coaching anymore. But thank God I don’t have to. I’ll just see what the future holds.”
Klopp was then asked what circumstances would lead to him returning to management. “I don’t know exactly, but I love what I’m doing,” he declared.
“I don’t miss coaching, I don’t miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours. I don’t miss going to four press conferences, three times a week, and I don’t miss 10 to 12 interviews a week.”
Alvaro Arbeloa’s role at Real Madrid is unknown (Image: Oscar DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images)
Real resume play on Wednesday when they face Albacete in the Copa del Rey. The likes of Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham will play twice in La Liga and twice in the Champions League by the end of this month as they look to turn this season around.
At his first press conference, Arbeloa was asked if he was Real’s interim manager, and he answered shyly. “I’ve been living in my own house for the last 20 years,” he told reporters. “I can say that I am here until Real Madrid asks me to go. I feel this is my home and I think so.”
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