JĂĽrgen Klopp has stated that he has not received any calls from Real Madrid following the exit of Xabi Alonso, and affirmed that the decision to part ways with the manager has nothing to do with him.
Klopp hasn’t managed since leaving Liverpool in 2024, and is currently the head of global soccer for Red Bull.
But he was questioned about re-entering the dugout due to the vacancy left by Alonso at Madrid.
«I think the rumours 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 when asked on the Austrian channel Servus TV if his phone had started ringing after Xabi’s departure, according to quotes translated by EFE.
«It has actually rung, but not from Madrid,» the former Liverpool coach said with a laugh, insisting that the news «hasn’t affected him at all.»
Klopp stated that Alonso has shown that he is a very talented coach and that his exit, after only half a year in the position, «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.
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Why Xabi Alonso’s sacking is a ‘big surprise’ from Real Madrid
Alex Kirkland explains why Real Madrid’s timing to sack Xabi Alonso as manager has come by as a «big surprise» after losing the Supercopa final vs. Barcelona.
Klopp expressed surprise at Alonso’s departure and noted how rumours that something wasn’t working between the coach and the Madrid squad «started relatively 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.
Klopp said he feels sorry for Alonso because he considers him a great coach and expressed confidence that he will do very well in the future.
– Kylian MbappĂ© bids Xabi Alonso farewell, but no message from VinĂcius JĂşnior or Jude Bellingham
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– Alonso wasn’t perfect, but sacking him ignores Madrid’s real problems
When asked about the possibility that the former Madrid coach might now join Liverpool, Klopp said he doesn’t think Alonso will leave his job in Spain «and be ready to start somewhere else the next day.»
However, he said that many things will happen in the summer and that the coaching market «will be reshuffled.»
«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,» he said about his own future, and affirmed that he is now «in the right place.»
