Xabi Alonso’s sacking at Real Madrid came as a shock to the footballing world on Monday afternoon after just eight months at the helm.
Los Blancos announced Alvaro Arbeloa had been placed in charge of the side for the time being, but they may yet choose to bring in a more experienced coach.
Klopp, who has long been admired by the Spanish side, is said to be near the top of the list of potential options. The German left Liverpool in 2024 and is now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, where he suggests he is not keen on returning to management.
After the news surrounding Alonso broke, Klopp was asked if he was contacted, and the former manager revealed that he has received countless messages about it:
"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.
"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."
