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Jurgen Klopp has been linked with a return to management(Image: RONNY HARTMANN, AFP via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp’s agent has asserted that the former Liverpool boss is “very happy” in his current position at Red Bull and any links with Real Madrid are “just rumours for now”. Klopp is currently working as Red Bull’s global head of football, having left Anfield in 2024, but continues to be linked with high-profile roles.
The German was touted as a potential contender for the Real Madrid job when they dismissed Xabi Alonso in January. Real appointed Alonso’s ex-team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa as his successor, but this hasn’t quelled the rumour mill.
Simultaneously, there has even been tentative speculation suggesting Klopp could make a return to Liverpool to take over from Arne Slot, amid a challenging season at Anfield.
There have even been reports from Spain that Atletico Madrid might replace Diego Simeone, who is in the final year of his contract, with Klopp.
Such is the level of speculation that Klopp’s agent, Marc Kosicke, has felt compelled to publicly dismiss the rumours.
“Jurgen Klopp is very happy with his current role at Red Bull, and what is being said about negotiations to coach Real Madrid are just rumours for now,” Kosicke said in a statement to 365Scores, relayed by Abola.
Kosicke also specifically dismissed claims that Klopp could go into international management ahead of the World Cup this summer.
“There’s no need to answer questions about things that are just rumours,” Kosicke added. “Nobody has contacted us at this time.”
Klopp has discussed how much he is relishing his more relaxed position with Red Bull, where he supervises their multi-club network including RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls and Paris FC.
“I’m in a place, as a person, where I’m completely at peace with where I am. I don’t want to be somewhere else,” Klopp told AFP back in January. “I don’t get up and excited if Real Madrid are showing interest. If they would be, but it’s the media.
“Do I want to coach again? At the moment, I would say no, but I cannot say never, never, never. I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know.”
Speaking to The Athletic in September, Klopp suggested that he could utilise his spell with Red Bull as a pathway back into management.
“I know I can coach a football team, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it until my last day,” Klopp said.
“I wanted to do something different. Red Bull gave me an opportunity to find a role which we have been defining together, step by step. I’m in a place as a person where I’m completely at peace with where I am. I don’t want to be somewhere else.
“I’ve got to know a lot of people who I didn’t know before. I’ve been to a lot of business meetings and learned words that I never knew before. It’s been a good time. One year in, five years of experience gained.”