Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he was contacted over the Real Madrid job after Xabi Alonso left the club - but not from an official club source.
Real announced on Monday that Alonso had mutually agreed to depart the club after just 232 days in charge.
The decision took many by surprise, with The Athletic reporting hours before Real's announcement that Alonso was safe in the role.
His last game in charge was Real's 3-2 Supercopa de Espana final defeat to Barcelona on Sunday.
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There have been question marks over Alonso's tactics and decision-making in big matches, with Real suffering defeats to Liverpool, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid this season.
Los Blancos sit second in La Liga, four points behind Barcelona, after 19 games.
According to BBC Sport, Alonso argued with striker Kylian Mbappe over tactics before the Barca clash, and had a separate 'disagreement' with president Florentino Perez on Monday before his exit - appearing to indicate the decision was indeed made at short notice.
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Rather than appoint a replacement on an interim basis, former Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa has been promoted from his role as boss of Real's Castilla side.
Other than Carlo Ancelotti, every Real manager since 2013 has either previously coached at or played for the club during their careers.
While he was in charge of Liverpool, Klopp was occasionally linked with being appointed at the Bernabeu whenever a vacancy arose.
The German has not managed since leaving Anfield in the summer of 2024, and is currently the head of global football at Red Bull.
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Speaking on the German TV station Servus TVOn, Klopp was asked whether his phone 'had started ringing' following Alonso's dismissal.
He replied that he had been contacted 'directly' by 'a few people' - but added that Real had not officially contacted him over taking the job.
"It actually has [started ringing] - though not from Madrid," he said.
"But yes, there were definitely a few people who felt they had to contact me directly about it.
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"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 monrths later, it shows a few things.
"On the one hand, it shows that nowadays there's no time anymore. On the other, the expectations at Real Madrid are obviously enormous.
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"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 emails."
Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, Football, Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso
Ryan Smart