Jurgen Klopp tipped to leave Red Bull and make shock management return just one-year after Liverpool exit
With things not going swimmingly at either Red Bull or Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp has been linked with a shock move to the Bernabeu.
The Champions League winning coach stepped away from the dugout when he left Liverpool last summer and has since taken a more hands off role as Red Bull’s head of global soccer.
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Yet most things in life are about timing, and with the hottest hot seat in the world potentially available this summer, reports claim Madrid could again move for Klopp.
Los Blancos are flirting with a trophyless season, 3-0 down in the Champions League against Arsenal and four points off LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
Such a failure despite their Galactico squad would put Carlo Ancelotti’s future in doubt, and Sport go as far as saying his contract depends ‘almost exclusively’ on what happens in the quarter-final second leg against the Gunners.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has long been seen as the ideal fit to step in during the summer.
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The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich man won an unbeaten double with Bayer Leverkusen in his first full season in management, but is set to end up trophyless this campaign.
talkSPORT understands that Alonso, who has a contract until 2026, remains their number one target.
But that has not stopped the links to the former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool boss.
According to Sport, ‘many agents have been pointing out in recent days that in the Bernabeu box’.
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They add that ‘People close to [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez are suggesting that the German is perhaps the only candidate who could fix this season's tactical mess.
‘Klopp would be an impact signing, would have much more room to maneuver, and would perhaps be better able to handle the pressure of a club that only wants to win at any cost.’
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The German inked a four-year deal with Red Bull that started on January 1, 2025.
talkSPORT understands he does have a break clause for one particular job - the German national team.
Therefore any deal to prise him away from Red Bull could prove difficult for Madrid.
Sport certainly don’t have the best reputation when it comes to reliability, but there’s reason to suggest that Klopp could be getting itchy feet.
Since joining Red Bull he’s lost his status as Germany’s most-loved sporting export with fans of his former clubs turning on him in dramatic fashion.
With RB Leipzig the most hated team in the Bundesliga and beyond, both Borussia Dortmund and Mainz fans have attacked the coach, and the latter even made a money-grabbing effigy of him at their carnival in March.
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There’s also the added factor that things aren’t going brilliantly at Red Bull either.
Ahead of Klopp’s official start date of January 1, the organisation sacked his long-time Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders at Salzburg.
The club had won ten straight Austrian Bundesliga titles from 2013 to 2023 but again look set to be pipped by Sturm Graz.
Meanwhile, at their headline act in Leipzig, there was more heartbreak for Klopp who had to say goodbye to his former prodigy and one of his best friends in football.
Marco Rose of whom Klopp once said he ‘would trust with his life’ was sacked in March and the club are now in a battle to keep their top four status despite possessing arguably the best squad in their short history.
Klopp has been linked to Real Madrid on numerous occasions in the past, but said he wouldn’t coach in a country where he doesn’t speak the language, yet it wouldn’t be the first time the lure of the Bernabeu has proved too much for a manager.
Meanwhile, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan believes the Klopp to Madrid would be an ideal fit.
He told talkSPORT: “I think it would be a perfect fit. He’s the perfect character to manage a club like Real Madrid in the style of football he plays, the character that he brings, how he embraces the culture of the club he moves into.
“If it is real, then he would be the perfect manager for the job.
“It would be fascinating to see how he’d get on with that pest Mbappe.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy agreed it would be the perfect fit and added: “He suits Real Madrid. You play that cavalier way of playing with great footballers, which is what they demand, then I’d agree.
Jurgen Klopp's break clause explained
Journalist Constantin Eckner told talkSPORT the key details of the break clause that could see him take the Germany job.
“For now, Klopp won't return to be a manager at the club level.
“Although, he has the option to leave Red Bull in the future and in order to take over the Germany national head coaching position. That might happen after the World Cup in 2026, but not right now.
“But of course, if Real Madrid comes knocking he will have the chance to maybe force himself out, or maybe get bought out by Real Madrid, or by Bayern Munich, or whoever.
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“There's still a chance because the other people who have served in a similar role at Red Bull, they left after a while because it's still more of an office type of role. You're not on the sideline, you're not on the training pitch. You’re in the boardrooms, you're mentoring coaches, you're trying to connect all the pieces within the Red Bull football empire.
“It's not the type of position you will have forever, especially if you're someone like Klopp. These types of personalities are more coaches than office personnel.
“The [Germany] clause was leaked to the press because, I think, Klopp wants to keep the door open, especially towards the German Football Association.
“I mean, right now, and until the World Cup in 2026, Julian Nagelsmann is the Germany manager and, unless something completely unforeseen happens, he will be the manager at the 2026 World Cup.
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“But what happens afterwards, what if Nagelsmann wants to return to club football at some point? He's still in his 30s, so he could leave, potentially… probably likely, after the 2026 World Cup. And now what then?
“Jurgen Klopp is at a point in his career where that might be a realistic option. So I think it was also to communicate to other parties that yes, he has joined Red Bull, but he might not be there forever.”
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