‘Mad house’ – Jurgen Klopp ruled out of sensational managerial return

Suggestions that Jurgen Klopp could take over from Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid have been emphatically rubbished.

Klopp and Zinedine Zidane are the leading contenders amongst the bookies to replace the under pressure Alonso, with Real Madrid’s latest setback seeing them lose 2-0 to Celta Vigo on Sunday.

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However, Brassell can’t see Klopp departing from his role as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer to join Madrid, where chaos can reign supreme.

“It won’t be Klopp,” Brassell said on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Groves.

“I would love to quit my cushy little number at Red Bull to go into that mad house.”

Klopp, who is estimated to earn between £8-10million in his Red Bull role, recently stated on the Diary of a CEO podcast he does not miss coaching since he left Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Why Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to leave his Red Bull role for Real Madrid

“I don’t miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours,” Klopp said.

“I also don’t miss going to press conferences three times a week. Having ten or 12 interviews a week, I don’t miss that. I don’t.

“I don’t miss being in the dressing room. I coached around 1,080 games so I was in the dressing room very, very often. I don’t want to die in the dressing room.”

As for Zidane, who previously managed Los Blancos across two separate stints between 2016 and 2021, Brassell believed he would be the ‘obvious’ candidate should Madrid opt for a caretaker boss.

That’s because Zidane is being primed to take over the French national team following the 2026 World Cup when current boss Didier Deschamps is expected to leave.

However, talk of Zidane returning on a temporary basis could be moot should Alonso kick Madrid back into gear.

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Is Xabi Alonso under pressure at Real Madrid?

Alonso is under the pump at the Bernabeu, so much so Spanish publication Marca reported he could be axed as Madrid boss should the team lose to Manchester City in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

It would be an almighty decision given Alonso only took over in the summer from Carlo Ancelotti having previously led Bayer Leverkusen.

But with Madrid now four points adrift of league leaders Barcelona in LaLiga following the loss to Celta, Alonso’s seat in the Bernabeu dugout is scorching hot.

Although Brassell acknowledged Alonso knows Madrid well, having represented the club over 230 times as a player, he’s swimming upstream when it comes to dealing with life on the other side of the touchline.

“All I would say is, Real Madrid is very different to any club,” Brassell said.

“I suppose that’s been one of the major problems for Xabi Alonso so far.

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“He started on the back foot, he started earlier than he wanted with the Club World Cup. He wanted to come in fresh this season, but they persuaded him to come in early.

“I think the difficult thing is even though he knows what Real Madrid is like and he’s gone in with his eyes open, he’s someone who firmly believes in meritocracy.

“You just can’t do things like that at Real Madrid. You’re battling against guys who are not just stars, but brands with whole teams of PR and marketing and management around them. You can see him getting exasperated for a number of weeks now.

“I think whether Alonso lasts the season regardless of the week to come against Manchester City, I think there’s a big question mark.”

Madrid’s Champions League clash against City gets underway on Wednesday at 8pm.