Jurgen Klopp Responds To Reports Linking Him With Real Madrid
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On Monday evening, Real Madrid shocked the footballing world when they decided to relieve manager Xabi Alonso after just six months in charge of the team. Last summer, he had signed a three-year contract with the club.
Although there had been whispers of discontent regarding Alonso towards the end of 2025, five consecutive wins had put any sort of talk on the back burner. However, the 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de España clearly proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
As it stands, Alvaro Arbeloa is the replacement. It has been widely discussed that Real Madrid did not use the words 'interim' or 'caretaker' in their statement announcing Arbeloa, though they also did not use the word 'permanent' or any mention of the length of contract.
This perhaps suggests that the 42-year-old is the actual, full-time manager of the first team, but until they find someone externally. Furthermore, he could have the chance to prove himself in the meantime, until the end of the season, which could be a good yardstick for that. If he wins a trophy, maybe he will stay on next season?
A number of external names have been linked to the job, even dating back to when Alonso was still in charge. As you'd expect, Zinedine Zidane is a name that comes up a lot. Another name that has frequently popped up is former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
The 58-year-old has not been in management since leaving Merseyside in 2024, instead taking up an upstairs role with the controversial company Red Bull. It remains to be seen whether or not he will return to another management role.
However, what we do know is that he will not be the Xabi Alonso replacement. When speaking to ServusTV (as relayed by SPOX), Klopp said:
"It [the Real Madrid job] has nothing to do with me and has not triggered anything in me."Jurgen Klopp
The coaching market is being mixed up and it's not bad to get the whole thing from the observer role and not think about what that could mean for you, because you're in the right place as you are."
Meanwhile, the German manager expressed that he felt sorry for Alonso after his stint at Real Madrid ended so briefly, saying that the 44-year-old is an "outstanding coaching talent": "I'm really sorry for him, because I think he's a great coach."
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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