How Klopp could still join Real Madrid as ‘tired’ Perez puts summer signing on ‘transfer list’ | OneFootball

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could still end up as the new Real Madrid head coach in the summer, according to reports.

Klopp left Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 campaign as Arne Slot took over at Liverpool and led them to the Premier League title for the first time since 2020.

Since then, the German has found work as Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull with the company with a number of clubs, including RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, under their ownership.

Despite being fairly new to the role, Klopp has already been linked with a return to management with Real Madrid the latest club to be linked after they sacked Xabi Alonso.

Los Blancos made the decision to sack Alonso in January after Real Madrid lost 3-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

The decision came after months of speculation that Alonso – who has already been linked with Man City and Liverpool – could be sacked with rumours of unrest in the dressing room over tactics.

And Arbeloa is having a relatively bad time of it too with Real Madrid falling four points behind Barcelona in La Liga after losing two of their last three league matches.

Multiple managers have been linked with replacing Arbeloa in the summer after recent claims that he will definitely be replaced at the end of the season.

Klopp is the bookmakers’ favourite to be the Real Madrid head coach next season but his agent, Marc Kosicke, has dismissed rumours that he’s ‘agreed’ to join Real Madrid.

Kosicke said: “There is no need to answer questions about matters that are just rumours. Nobody has contacted us at this time.

“Jurgen Klopp is very happy with his current role at Red Bull, and what is being said about negotiations to coach Real Madrid are just rumours for now.”

Despite that, reports in Spain claim Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and other members of the club’s hierarchy ‘are open to the possibility’ of Klopp being the manager in the future.

The report adds: ‘Within the club, there’s a fairly clear idea: if the team manages to win La Liga or the Champions League, the project could continue with Alvaro Arbeloa at the helm.

‘However, if the season ends without any major titles, Real Madrid could be forced to look for a new manager.  In that scenario, Jürgen Klopp’s name would once again gain significant traction within the club.’

There have been rumours about a summer overhaul of the squad at Real Madrid, as various players are linked elsewhere, with reports in Spain claiming Perez is ‘tired’ of summer signing Dean Huijsen.

It is understood that the Real Madrid president ‘has already put him on the transfer list for the next summer market’ after the Spain international has failed to live up to expectations in his first season at the Bernabeu.

The report continues: ‘Florentino Perez is beginning to realise that the move may have been made too soon. The Real Madrid president personally spearheaded the transfer, convinced that the centre-back could become one of the great defensive icons of European football.’

And Real Madrid are now ‘willing to listen to offers if they reach a figure close to the €62.5 million the club paid for the defender’.