Real Madrid ‘convinces’ Klopp to replace Alonso and first new signing affects Liverpool | OneFootball

A stunning report claims Real Madrid have convinced Jurgen Klopp to return to management, and what that means for Xabi Alonso and how Liverpool would be affected by his first signing have come to light.

Klopp voluntarily walked away from management when bringing his legendary tenure at Liverpool to a close two summers ago. The German, 58, since assumed the role of Head of Soccer with Red Bull.

Klopp insisted he’ll never manage another club in England besides Liverpool. As such, it’s long been speculated there’d only be three jobs that could tempt Klopp out of retirement – Real Madrid, Barcelona and the German national team.

Despite picking up back-to-back wins in LaLiga, Xabi Alonso remains under intense scrutiny in the dugout at Real Madrid.

Fabrizio Romano has strongly hinted Alonso must guide Real Madrid to a trophy in the form of the Spanish Super Cup at the start of 2026. In all likelihood, Real Madrid will have to beat Barcelona in the four-team tournament to do so.

And according to the latest from DefensaCentral, Real Madrid are making progress in their quest to replace Alonso with Klopp.

It’s claimed Real supremo, Florentino Perez, ‘convinces’ Klopp to come out of retirement. Klopp doesn’t want to take a new job part-way through a campaign, and instead, would join Real Madrid in the summer if it all goes down like the report claims.

Aiding Real’s charm offensive are the claims Klopp has asked for two specific signings and Real have obliged.

Klopp reportedly wants a new centre-back and a ball-playing midfielder to coincide with his arrival. Regarding the former, it’s stated Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi are the two centre-backs in focus.

A move for Guehi would go down like a lead balloon back at Klopp’s former club Liverpool. The Reds came close to signing Guehi last summer, only to see the move fall through on deadline day.

Guehi will leave Palace in 2026, with all the signs pointing towards the player departing at season’s end via free agency.

Liverpool are understood to be favourites to seal a deal at the second time of asking, but the chance to play under an iconic manager like Klopp at arguably the world’s biggest club in Real Madrid could prove difficult to ignore.

And crucially, as an overseas side, Real Madrid can forge a pre-contract agreement with Guehi come January 1. Liverpool must wait until next summer before getting anything in writing.

What about Xabi Alonso?

The report claimed Real Madrid would either stick with Alonso for the remainder of the season before replacing him with Klopp, or fire Alonso mid-season if results remain patchy.

Of course, Klopp would not take the reins mid-season, and instead, Alvaro Arbeloa would likely step in on an interim basis to see out the season until Klopp arrives.

Arbeloa currently managed Real Madrid’s B team and has wowed club officials with how quickly he’s improved younger players, his progressive playing style, and his stronger personality when compared to Alonso that should lend itself better to managing the big egos in the first team.