Jurgen Klopp gives telling response to Real Madrid firing Xabi Alonso after 'hearing rumors'

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid on Monday; Jurgen Klopp was previously linked with the Madrid job but said last year that he had no interest in returning to management

Jurgen Klopp gave his reaction to Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid sacking(Image: AFP or licensors)

Jurgen Klopp expressed his surprise at Xabi Alonso's sacking by Real Madrid, as he distanced himself from rumors linking him with the Bernabeu hot seat.

Alonso was dismissed on Monday, fewer than 24 hours on from Madrid's 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah.

Alvaro Arbeloa – a former teammate of Alonso's at Liverpool, Real Madrid, and with the Spanish national team – has been installed as the former midfielder's replacement.

Klopp was appearing on a TV broadcast when the news of Alonso's sacking emerged, and said that the decision is a sign that all is not currently right at the Bernabeu.

"About two hours ago the news suddenly broke that Xabi Alonso is no longer the coach of Real Madrid," the TV host said, before saying to Klopp: "So my question is this: has your phone already started ringing?"

Klopp responded: "It actually has — though not from Madrid. But yes, there were definitely a few people who felt they had to contact me directly about it.

"First of all, I think it’s another sign that something isn’t quite right there at the moment.

"If Xabi Alonso, who over the last two years in Leverkusen has shown what an outstanding coaching talent he is – and I think at his age and with the number of jobs he’s had, you can say that — is then forced to leave Madrid just six months later, it shows a few things.

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid on Monday(Image: Getty Images)

"On the one hand, it shows that nowadays there’s no time anymore. On the other, the expectations at Real Madrid are obviously enormous.

"To make a decision like that in the heat of the moment, after losing a cup final to Barcelona yesterday, says a lot. I think we’d already been hearing rumours for a while.

"And now – I don’t know if that’s where your question was going – but this has absolutely nothing to do with me, and it didn’t trigger anything for me either, which would probably have been the follow-up question.

"I was surprised, that’s true – genuinely surprised. Then a few people messaged me, and I replied with various emojis."

Klopp is currently employed as Red Bull's head of global soccer, having started in the role 12 months ago, and last year he expressed that he had little interest in returning to management.