Jurgen Klopp to Real Madrid: former Liverpool manager candidate for head coach of La Liga club | Football news

Jurgen Klopp is a candidate for the position of Real Madrid head coach if the club decides to appoint a new boss this summer.

Alvaro Arbeloa is currently in charge of La Liga after Xabi Alonso left his post as head coach Monday after less than eight months in the role.

Klopp currently works as head of global football at Red Bull, but despite his long-term contract, Real Madrid is a major attraction for the former Liverpool manager.

If the Spanish club were to make a serious decision, Klopp would seriously consider it, Sky Germany learned.

Sky Germany revealed on December 11 that Klopp was a candidate for the Real Madrid job in the event of Alonso's dismissal.

Klopp left Liverpool in 2024, saying he “ran 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.

Talk to ServusTV In Germany last night, after Alonso's departure from Real was announced, Klopp said: “My phone did ring – but not from Madrid.

“There were a few people, however, who felt they needed to talk to me about it.”

Real announced Alonso's departure a day after the club lost to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.

After the match, footage on social media appeared to show star striker Kylian Mbappe ignoring Alonso as he tried to bring his team towards the Barcelona players to congratulate them.

Mbappé gestured to his teammates to leave the pitch with him, but posted a farewell message to his former boss after his departure.

Alonso's tenure has been marred by internal discord, with reports of clashes with senior players including co-captain Federico Valverde and winger Vinicius Jr.

Alonso leaves with Real second in the La Liga table, four points behind leaders Barcelona at the halfway point of the campaign.

The Spanish giants are also seventh in the Champions League table, having won four of their six matches and lost the other two.

“This stage of my career is over and it did not go as we would have liked. Coaching Real Madrid has been an honor and a responsibility,” Alonso wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

“I am grateful to the club, the players and, above all, the supporters… I leave with respect, gratitude and pride in having done my best.”

Alonso was hired by Real this summer to replace Carlo Ancelotti, after guiding Bayer Leverkusen to the German league and cup double against all odds in 2024.

He was previously linked with the Liverpool job when Klopp announced he would leave Anfield that same year, but opted to stay at Leverkusen for another season before moving to Madrid.

Klopp: I'm sorry for Xabi, he's an exceptional coach

Despite being linked to the role, Klopp was quick to point out how sorry he felt for Alonso following his exit from the club.

Talk to ServusTV In Germany, Klopp said: “In general, it is a sign that everything is not 100 percent perfect when Xabi Alonso, who showed for two years at Leverkusen what an exceptional coach he is, has to leave Real Madrid only six months later.

“When you come in after a legend and an incredibly successful manager like Carlo Ancelotti, who had a very specific way of managing his teams, and then try to introduce new rules, it now proves 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 shaken up, and it's not a bad thing to experience it all from an observer's perspective and not think about what it might mean for yourself – because you're in the right place, right where you are.”