Jürgen Klopp Denies Link To Madrid Vacancy

Jürgen Klopp says Real Madrid have not contacted him after Xabi Alonso’s exit.
Klopp insists Alonso’s departure “has nothing to do with me”.
He says Alonso’s spell is a reminder of the brutal demands and lack of patience at Madrid.

Jürgen Klopp has shut down suggestions he could return to management at Real Madrid, insisting he has not received any calls from the club following Xabi Alonso’s departure and that the decision to part ways with Alonso “has nothing to do with me”.

Klopp has not managed since leaving Liverpool in 2024 and is now head of global soccer for Red Bull. But with Madrid suddenly looking for a new coach, the speculation has reignited, and Klopp was asked directly about it in an interview on Austrian channel Servus TV.

“I think the rumors have been circulating for some time now. And I know exactly what your question is getting at, but it has nothing to do with me,” Klopp said, according to quotes translated by EFE.

“It has actually rung, but not from Madrid,” he added, laughing, before saying the news “hasn’t affected him at all.”

Klopp used the moment to praise Alonso and to point at what he sees as a deeper issue at the Bernabeu, where a short run can still end in the exit door.

Klopp said Alonso has shown he is a talented coach, and that his departure after only half a year “is another sign that something isn’t working perfectly there.”

“This shows several things: on the one hand, that we [coaches] no longer have any time, and on the other hand, that the demands at Real Madrid are, logically, enormous,” he said.

Klopp said he was surprised by how quickly things turned, and noted that rumours about a breakdown between Alonso and the squad began early.

“I think when you arrive after a legend and an incredibly good coach, who had a very specific way of coaching his team – Carlo Ancelotti – if you arrive there and try to implement some new rules, this time it seems it has proven too difficult,” he said.

He also made clear he expects Alonso to take time before jumping into another job, even as the broader market moves.

When asked about the possibility Alonso could now end up at Liverpool, Klopp said he does not think Alonso will leave his role in Spain “and be ready to start somewhere else the next day.”

He added that the coaching market “will be reshuffled” in the summer, but suggested he is comfortable watching it unfold from the outside.

“And it’s not bad to simply experience it from the role of an observer, without having to think about what it could mean for oneself or anything like that,” Klopp said, adding he is now “in the right place.”

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.