Soccer-Klopp shuts down Real Madrid speculation, still open to coaching return


Soccer Football - Juergen Klopp press conference - Salzburg, Austria - January 14, 2025 Red Bull's Global Head of Soccer Juergen Klopp after the press conference REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth

March 24 (Reuters) - Former Liverpool ⁠manager Juergen Klopp has dismissed speculation linking him ⁠with the Real Madrid job, though the German said ‌he was not completely finished as a coach.

The 58-year-old who is working as Red Bull's head of global soccer left Liverpool at the end ​of the 2023-24 season after a nine-year ⁠spell that delivered major ⁠honours including Champions League and Premier League titles.

Real appointed former ⁠right ‌back Alvaro Arbeloa, previously their reserve team coach, as manager in January following the departure of Xabi ⁠Alonso who was sacked after seven months in ​charge amid a ‌poor run of results and reports of unrest among ⁠senior players.

"If ​Real Madrid had phoned, we would have heard about it by now," Klopp told reporters at the Magenta TV World Cup ⁠team presentation on Monday.

"But that's all ​nonsense. They haven't called even once - not once. My agent is there, you can ask him. They haven't called him either.

"Right ⁠now I'm not thinking about that. Luckily, there's no reason to.

"For my age, I'm quite advanced in life, but as a coach I'm not completely finished. I haven't reached retirement ​age. Who knows what will happen in ⁠the coming years? But there's nothing planned."

Klopp, who previously managed ​Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund, has ‌also said he would never coach ​another team in England apart from Liverpool.

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)

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