Former Liverpool boss insists he has no interest in a job at the Santiago Bernabeu
Jurgen Klopp believes something “isn’t quite right” at Real Madrid if Xabi Alonso was dismissed just six months into his new job.
The former Liverpool manager said he was “surprised” it happened, even if there had previously been rumours to that effect, before making clear he wasn’t looking at the Madrid job.
Klopp has been quick to dismiss links to another coaching job since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and taking up a role as the Global Head of Football for Red Bull.
The 58-year-old was asked if his phone had started ringing in the aftermath of Alonso’s exit.
“It actually has – though not from Madrid,” Klopp said on ServusTV On. “But yes, there were definitely a few people who felt they had to contact me directly about it.
“I think it’s another sign that something isn’t quite right there at the moment. If Xabi Alonso, who over the last two years in Leverkusen has shown what an outstanding coaching talent he is – and I think at his age and with the number of jobs he’s had, you can say that – is then forced to leave Madrid just six months later, it shows a few things.
On the one hand, it shows that nowadays there’s no time anymore. On the other, the expectations at Real Madrid are obviously enormous.
“To make a decision like that in the heat of the moment, after losing a cup final to Barcelona yesterday, says a lot. It has absolutely nothing to do with me, and it didn’t trigger anything for me either.”
In the past Klopp has said that Madrid was one club he would love to coach, although he has repeatedly said since leaving Liverpool that he does not miss coaching, due to the stress, time consumption and social strain associated with the job.
“It’s not bad to simply experience [what’s happening at Madrid] from the role of an observer,” Klopp added, “without having to think about what it could mean for oneself or anything like that.”
