Liverpool’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday night could be an audition for Jurgen Klopp to potentially take the reins at the Bernabeu in the future, according to one Spanish outlet.
The 55-year-old has been mooted as a possible successor to Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian’s contract with Los Blancos expires in 2024.
The Reds need to overcome a three-goal deficit tomorrow if they’re to thwart their opponents’ bid to retain the trophy, although the display put up by the German’s team might catch the eye of the LaLiga club’s hierarchy.
According to Defensa Central, ‘his future on the bench could directly depend on his performance’ on Wednesday, with Klopp ‘one of the many names that sound like a possible Real Madrid coach’ and the Spanish giants set to ‘take into account his performance at the Bernabéu’.
The report adds: ‘Klopp will try to leave a good image in a historic setting in the competition and, above all, in front of Florentino Pérez. This would be a great letter of introduction for him, despite the fact that he is already a well-known coach in the world of football.’
It’s also claimed that the 55-year-old has ‘always been valued in the Spanish capital’, but the opportunity for him to manage Los Blancos ‘never came to be given’.
Given what Klopp’s achieved at Liverpool, it’s not surprising to see Spanish media touting him as a potential successor to Ancelotti in Madrid.
A Champions League triumph (plus two other finals in which the Reds came up short against the club who are seemingly courting him) along with a Premier League title and points tallies of 97, 99 and 92 over the past five years illustrate just how outstanding the German’s work at Anfield has been.
If the Merseysiders were to pull off a sensational result tomorrow night and dethrone Los Blancos, that might well incentivise the LaLiga giants to try and lure him to the Spanish capital full-time.
However, with a contract at Liverpool until 2026 and a reputation for long-term projects, the likelihood of Klopp quitting for the Real Madrid job is quite slim.
He had seven years each at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and is into his eighth at Anfield, with such longevity unthinkable at the Bernabeu, where five different managers have worked since the German began his current role in October 2015.