Klopp dismisses Real Madrid speculation as ‘nonsense’ and denies any contact

By: The Associated Press Posted: 5:23 AM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2026

ISMANING, Germany (AP) — Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has dismissed as “nonsense” a suggestion he could take over as Real Madrid coach next season and said he hasn't heard from the Spanish club.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/03/2026 (195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ISMANING, Germany (AP) — Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has dismissed as “nonsense” a suggestion he could take over as Real Madrid coach next season and said he hasn’t heard from the Spanish club.

Klopp hasn’t coached since his shock departure from Liverpool in 2024, when he said he was “running out of energy.” He’s stayed in the game as the Red Bull group’s head of global soccer, overseeing clubs like Leipzig, Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.

“It’s all just nonsense. They haven’t even called once, not one single time. And my agent is over there, you can ask him too, they haven’t called him either,” Klopp said in televised comments about speculation linking him to Real Madrid.

FILE - Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp gestures to fans at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London stadium in London, on April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

He was speaking at an event on Monday in his role as a TV pundit for the World Cup.

Klopp didn’t rule out a return to coaching someday but said he wasn’t thinking about the Germany job in case Julian Nagelsmann were to leave after the World Cup.

“At the moment I’m obviously not thinking about that at all and luckily there isn’t any reason to do that,” he said in comments reported by German agency dpa.

Last month, Red Bull said it was “extremely satisfied” with Klopp’s work after a report in an Austrian newspaper claimed his role was in question because the drinks giant’s clubs hadn’t made enough progress in the year since he took charge.