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Jurgen Klopp issues clear response to Real Madrid rumours
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 13 Jan 2026 15:53 GMT
- 5 min read
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It didn't take long for Jurgen Klopp to be linked with the Real Madrid job after Xabi Alonso's dismissal and the former Liverpool boss has already responded to the rumours.
Alonso was sacked by Los Blancos following the Spanish Supercopa loss against Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Barca won 3-2 thanks to two strikes from Raphina and a goal from Robert Lewandowski, with Gonzalo Garcia and Vinicius Junior on the scoresheet for Madrid.
Following the game, Madrid players seemed to ignore Alonso's orders to provide a guard of honour for the Barcelona players, with the squad apparently following Kylian Mbappe's orders to walk off the pitch instead.
Xabi’s last moments as Real Madrid’s manager 🧥
🎥 @Black_Code77 pic.twitter.com/q5rodahiYW— 433 (@433) January 12, 2026
The Spaniard lost his job on Monday and, naturally, speculation started as to who might replace him in the Santiago Bernabeu hot seat.
Klopp, who has been linked with the Madrid job on numerous occasions, stopped short of confirming or denying his future intentions, but did admit that something is "isn't quite right" with Real Madrid at the moment.
“It actually has - though not from Madrid. But yes, there were definitely a few people who felt they had to contact me directly about it," the German said while working as a pundit on Servus TV On.
“First of all, 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. I think we’d already been hearing rumours for a while. And now - I don’t know if that’s where your question was going - but this has absolutely nothing to do with me, and it didn’t trigger anything for me either, which would probably have been the follow-up question.
“I was surprised, that’s true - genuinely surprised. Then a few people messaged me, and I replied with various emojis.”
Klopp will not manager another English team
Klopp is one of the most legendary coaches this century following his success with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. At Anfield, he helped the Reds win the Premier League for the first time as well as the Champions League.
A return to Liverpool isn't out of the question in the future, but he previously insisted he would never manage another English team.
“I said I will never coach a team in England again, that means if it's Liverpool, theoretically it's possible," he said on the Diary of a CEO podcast.
"I don't know exactly, I love what I do right now. I don't miss coaching, I do coach now but just different.
“I don't miss standing in the rain, two-and-a-half [to] three hours, I don't miss going to press conferences three times a week, having 12 interviews a week, I don't miss that, I don't. I don't miss being in the dressing room, I coached something like 1,080 games so I was in a dressing room often. I don't want to die in a dressing room because it's not nice, it smells.
“There might be something, I'm 58, I could make the decision in a few years... I don't know. Do I have to make the decision today that I will not coach again? Thank god I don't have to, I can just see what the future brings. Now I'm in a project I really love, I like doing what I'm doing right now. In my mind, only if I'm focused 100 per cent, I can do it really good."
Klopp is currently the Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull GmbH.
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