Ten Liverpool, Real Madrid stars delighted by Xabi Alonso, Jurgen Klopp appointments | OneFootball

“For sure, with English clubs and my former club,” was all that was required from Xabi Alonso when asked about managing in the Premier League for the door to be swung open to his dramatic return to Anfield in place of Arne Slot.

No such comment, or indeed any comment, has been made by Jurgen Klopp on the possibility of taking the Spaniard’s place at Real Madrid, but that’s not stopped gossip columnists taking what still appears to be the German’s great aversion to ever managing a football club ever again with the fistful of salt required to push such an irresistible narrative.

Alonso, former Liverpool and Real Madrid player, sacked by Real Madrid and landing at Liverpool, after they get rid of Slot (who they appointed having held strong interest in hiring Alonso from Bayer Leverkusen) makes for an excellent story; one made far more juicy should Liverpool’s greatest manager come out of retirement to replace him at Real Madrid after taking the view that while nine seasons at Anfield may have meant more, the biggest club in the world in fact means most, the treacherous swine.

Anyway, we’ve come up with 10 players from Liverpool and Real Madrid who would be delighted by this monumental, highly unlikely turn of events, made slightly more likely by Manchester City pushing Alonso towards the exit door on Wednesday.

Ibrahima Konate

We’re not sure what we liked more about Arne Slot’s assessment of Konate’s performances after another error-ridden display against Leeds: the image he created of the centre-back as a down-on-their-luck detective desperate to crack a case “spending too much time at the crime scene” or the suggestion “that’s something I’ve heard people saying before in England” like we all come up with such poetic lines when describing a footballer being quite sh*t (see, we can’t).

A recent report has suggested there are ‘ongoing talks’ between Liverpool and Konate to extend his contract beyond the end of the season despite his woeful form, but all paths had pointed to Real Madrid before the downturn and it’s been claimed that the arrival of Klopp – who signed Konate for Liverpool and paired him with Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of his defence – at the Bernabeu would reignite their interest.

Vinicius Junior

Widespread reports suggesting he would be leaving Real Madrid because he well, said “I’m leaving”, have died down in recent weeks thanks to him a) starting pretty much every game, and b) Alonso’s future being thrown into doubt.

His ‘revolt’ against the manager appears to be working and while we have no real idea if he would or wouldn’t get on with Klopp, he holds a huge advantage over Alonso in Vinicius’ mind because he isn’t Alonso.

Alexis Mac Allister

Klopp described Mac Allister as an “incredibly smart player” who was “better than all sixes” on the ball and “super aggressive” off it in the face of suggestions that Liverpool needed more of a killer at the base of midfield in his last season at the club.

There has been a sense that it’s only a matter of time before Mac Allister moves to Real Madrid, but what if Alonso – the man pushing for his own regen to join him at the club in a bid for more control in central midfield – were to pitch up at Anfield? It’s not a bad conundrum to have.

Florian Wirtz

What if Xabi Alonso is to Florian Wirtz what Antonio Conte was to Victor Moses? What a turn-up for the books it would therefore be should the only manager who can get a tune out of him rock up as manager of the football club he now plays for.

The manager referred to him as a “genius” and compared his decision-making ability with that of Lionel Messi. That’s Alonso on Wirtz, not Conte on Moses.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

He’s doing a very fine job of somehow enduring a worse season than a fair few of his Liverpool teammates despite his departure from his boyhood club appearing to play a not-insignificant role in their plunge from Premier League title-winners into mid-table also-rans.

Turns out being the defensive patsy behind Mohamad Salah served a player who’s got one assist in 11 games for Real Madrid rather well. Injuries have hampered Alexander-Arnold, but doubts over his place in the team when fit would disappear with the arrival of Klopp as his manager.

Alexander Isak

He needs something, anything to change for him at Liverpool.

Jeremie Frimpong

The injured wing-back must currently be watching Slot deploying a narrow midfield and two strikers and think this system is screaming out for him to be charging down the right flank, but we also got the sense when Frimpong was fit and usually watching from the bench that his signing may have been made for the Liverpool manager rather than one he specifically asked for.

But Mohamed Salah’s likely exit, or at least his bit-part role, certainly offers up an opportunity for Frimpong to be the man to create the width for Liverpool, and the arrival of Alonso would ensure that opportunity given what they achieved together at Bayer Leverkusen.

Mohamed Salah

It will come as little surprise to those siding with Jamie Carragher in thinking Salah is a selfish prima donna who refuses to accept the fading of the light that comes for all footballers that the three clubs he’s supposedly offered himself to on the back of his childish post-Leeds outburst are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, over three clubs who may actually want him from, say, Saudi Arabia.

We have significant doubts as to whether Madrid president Florentino Perez would sanction/have the funds for a move for a 33-year-old winger who doesn’t defend when at least two other absurdly gifted forwards on their books see tracking back as some sort of slight on their talent. Even Klopp may struggle to persuade him.

We’re also not sure he would be much better off with Alonso replacing Slot at Anfield, but at least he may have a “relationship” to break rather than none at all.

Rodrygo

He ended up staying at Madrid despite very strong suggestions he might up sticks for the Premier League in the summer after Alonso signalled intentions at the Club World Cup which have rung true during a season in which the Brazilian started just four games in all competitions before his fifth against Manchester City.

His brilliant goal and general excellence in that game has if anything provided further ammo for Perez to send Alonso packing.

There were frequent reports during Klopp’s time at Liverpool of his interest in the winger and Rodrygo’s agent, Nick Acuri, revealed the German took an 11-hour flight to Brazil before his client signed for Real Madrid in an attempt to prise him from Santos after – and we don’t think he was joking – revealing that Klopp “had gone on YouTube and searched ‘talents from Brazil'”. Glorious.

Eduardo Camavinga

Klopp tried to sign Camavinga from Rennes in 2021, the summer before Real Madrid swooped to pinch Aurelien Tchouameni from under the Reds manager’s nose.

The 23-year-old been heavily linked with an exit, with some reports suggesting Liverpool are somewhere near the front of the queue to sign him, as his high-energy combative style isn’t quite what Alonso is after in midfield. But it’s precisely what Klopp likes.