Jurgen Klopp is a candidate for the head coach position at Real Madrid should the club decide to appoint a new boss in the summer.
Alvaro Arbeloa is currently in charge of the La Liga side after Xabi Alonso left his position as head coach on Monday after less than eight months in the role.
Klopp is currently working as the head of global soccer for Red Bull, but despite his long-term contract there, Real Madrid holds a major appeal for the former Liverpool manager.
If the Spanish club were to make a serious move, Klopp would give it serious consideration, Sky Germany has learned.
Sky Germany revealed on December 11 that Klopp was a candidate for the Real Madrid job should Alonso be dismissed.
Klopp left Liverpool in 2024, saying he was “running out of energy” after winning six trophies with the club including the Premier League and Champions League. He joined Red Bull in January last year.
Speaking to ServusTV in Germany last night after news broke that Alonso had left Real, Klopp said: “My phone did actually ring – but not from Madrid.
“There were, however, a few people who felt they needed to bring it up with me.”
Real announced Alonso’s departure a day after the club’s defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.
After the game, footage on social media appeared to show star forward Kylian Mbappe ignoring Alonso as he attempted to usher his team towards Barcelona players to congratulate them.
Mbappe gestured for his team-mates to leave the pitch with him, but did post a parting message to his former boss after his departure.
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Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon reveals why he’s been left confused by Xabi Alonso’s exit from the club and why he thinks the midfield of the team is their main issue.
Alonso’s tenure was marred by internal discord, with reports of clashes with senior players, including co-captain Federico Valverde and winger Vinicius Jr.
Alonso departs with Real second in the La Liga table, four points behind leaders Barcelona at the midway stage of the campaign.
The Spanish giants are also seventh in the Champions League table, having won four out of their six games, losing the other two.
“This stage of my career has come to an end, and it has not turned out as we would have liked. Coaching Real Madrid has been an honour and a responsibility,” Alonso wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“I am grateful to the club, the players and, above all, the fans… I leave with respect, gratitude and pride in having done my best.”
Alonso was hired by Real in the summer as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement, after guiding Bayer Leverkusen to the German league and cup double against the odds in 2024.
He was previously linked to the Liverpool job when Klopp announced he would leave Anfield in the same year, but opted to stay at Leverkusen for another season before moving to Madrid.
Xabi Alonso left his role as Real Madrid head coach on Monday
Klopp: I feel sorry for Xabi, he is an outstanding coach
Despite being linked with the role, Klopp was quick to outline how sorry he felt for Alonso following his exit from the club.
Speaking to ServusTV in Germany, Klopp said: “In general, it’s a sign that not everything there is 100 per cent right when Xabi Alonso, who showed over two years in Leverkusen what an outstanding coaching talent he is, has to leave Real Madrid just half a year later.
“When you come in after a legend and an incredibly successful coach like Carlo Ancelotti, who had a very specific way of managing his teams, and then try to introduce new rules, that has now proven to be too difficult.
“I really feel sorry for him, because I consider him a great coach. It has nothing to do with me and didn’t trigger anything in me either.
“The coaching market is being reshuffled, and it’s not a bad thing to experience all of this from an observer’s perspective and not think about what it might mean for yourself – because you’re in the right place where you are.”
