An astonishing report claims that Real Madrid have persuaded Jurgen Klopp to return to being manager, and what that means for Xabi Alonso and how Liverpool will be affected by his first signing has come to light.
Klopp voluntarily left management when he ended his legendary spell at Liverpool two summers ago. The 58-year-old German has since taken over the role of Head of Soccer at Red Bull.
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Klopp insisted that he will never manage another club in England than Liverpool. It has therefore long been speculated that there are only three jobs that could tempt Klopp out of retirement – Real Madrid, Barcelona and the German national team.
Despite picking up consecutive wins in La Liga recently, Xabi Alonso remains under intense scrutiny on the bench at Real Madrid.
Fabrizio Romano has strongly suggested that Alonso will have to lead Real Madrid to a trophy in the form of the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning 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 news from DefensaCentral, Real Madrid are making progress in their quest to replace Alonso with Klopp.
It is claimed that Real boss, Florentino Perez, is “persuading” Klopp to come out of “retirement2”. Klopp does not want to take a new job in the middle of a season, and instead wants to join Real Madrid in the summer if everything plays out as the report claims.
What supports Real’s charm offensive are the claims that Klopp has asked for two specific signings, and Real have accommodated both of them.
Klopp reportedly wants a new centre-back and a ball-playing midfielder in connection with his arrival. As for the former, it is claimed that Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi are the two centre-backs in focus.
A transfer for Guehi would be received as a lump of lead back at Klopp’s former club Liverpool. The Reds came close to signing Guehi last summer, only to see the deal collapse on the final day of the transfer window.
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Guehi will leave Palace in 2026, and all signs point to the player leaving at the end of the season via a free transfer.
Liverpool are understood to be favourites to strike a deal at the second attempt, but the opportunity to play under an iconic manager like Klopp at perhaps the world’s biggest club, Real Madrid, could prove difficult to ignore.
And crucially, Real Madrid, as a foreign club, can enter into a pre-agreement with Guehi from January 1. Liverpool will have to wait until next summer before they can get anything in writing.
What about Xabi Alonso?
Real Madrid will either keep Alonso for the rest of the season before replacing him with Klopp, or sack Alonso mid-season if results remain uneven.
Of course, Klopp would not take over the helm in the middle of the season, and instead, Alvaro Arbeloa would likely step in on an interim basis to complete the season until Klopp arrives.
Arbeloa currently manages Real Madrid’s B team and has impressed the club’s officials with how quickly he has improved younger players, his progressive style of play and his stronger personality compared to Alonso, who should be better suited to deal with the big egos in the first team.
Transfer guru Romano recently confirmed that Arbeloa is expected to take over if Alonso bites the bullet any time soon.
