Real talk is nonsense but I may coach again - Klopp

Munich—Jurgen Klopp has dismissed suggestions that he is on Real Madrid’s short-list to succeed Alvaro Arbeloa as “nonsense,” insisting the Spanish giants have never made contact with him or his representatives.

Speaking to reporters at Magenta TV’s World Cup team presentation here on Thursday, the 58-year-old German said: “If Real Madrid had phoned, we would have heard about it by now. 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.”

Klopp, who left Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign after nine trophy-laden seasons, has since taken up the role of head of global football at Red Bull. While he reiterated that no immediate return to the touchline is on the horizon, he refused to rule out a future comeback.

“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.”

During his tenure at Anfield, Klopp delivered the club’s sixth European Cup in 2019 and ended a 30-year wait for a league title the following season. His haul also includes the FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The former Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund boss, who collected back-to-back Bundesliga crowns in 2011 and 2012, has previously stated he would never manage another English club. “What I know definitely is that I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100%. That’s not possible,” he reaffirmed.

For now, Klopp appears content in his off-field role, yet the door to a fresh coaching chapter remains ajar.