Klopp Slams Real Madrid Rumours: “Now I’m Supposed to Coach Atletico as Well”
The Liverpool legend says there’s been no contact with and no chance of him managing one of the Madrid clubs.
ISMANING, GERMANY - MARCH 23: Jürgen Klopp attends the presentation of the MagentaTV team for the FUFA World Cup 2026 at DMC Production Germany GmbH on March 23, 2026 in Ismaning, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images The last time Jürgen Klopp took a break from management, it didn’t last long, with the 58-year-old German trainer only out of work for a few months following his Dortmund departure before joining Liverpool. Having stepped down from the Reds in 2024, his second sabbatical has proven far more significant.
In the meantime he’s taken on an executive level gig for the Red Bull group, acting as global director of football within the energy drink empire, but that’s a far less involved and intense role than manager—though most on the outside at least continue to speculate about an eventual return to the career role he’s most famous for. On that front, the usual chatter focuses in on an expectation that sooner or later Klopp will end up managing the German national team, but in recent months there’s been a steady thrum out of Spain setting him out first as the potential next permanent Real Madrid manager and now linking him with Atletico Madrid. “It’s a good thing that we talk about this,” Klopp said this week when asked about the Madrid chatter, launching into something half way between a denial and a condemnation of the speculative press in Spain and elsewhere.
“When is news news? When does someone write something—just when there is something true? “I don’t know if it’s AI or if there are people behind it when they just write anything, but it annoys me.
Real Madrid haven’t called me even once. My agent is just over there, you can ask him. And now I’m supposed to coach Atletico Madrid as well, maybe at the same time.