Jurgen Klopp has 'huge respect' among Real Madrid fans as Los Blancos urged to 'break the cycle' with next managerial hire

Real began the 2025/26 season with optimism of a new era under the management of former midfield star Xabi Alonso, but the ex-Liverpool player was sacked after just seven months and, under the caretaker leadership of Alvaro Arbeloa, the major titles have once again slipped away to make it two trophy-less campaigns in a row.

Thoughts, then, are inevitably turning towards who can turn this giant ship around, with a slew of big names being linked with the role in recent weeks.

Among them is Jose Mourinho, but there is another big figure that keeps coming up, as TNT Sports' Spanish football expert Phil Kitromilides reveals.

"I would say that Jurgen Klopp is the name that gets Real Madrid fans the most excited," he said.

"He has the cachet, they remember coming up against his Borussia Dortmund side, his Liverpool side. He is a man who is hugely respected in Madrid for what he has done.

"And there seems to be this kind of cycle with Real Madrid where they go for a manager who is more arm round the shoulder, talk to the players, be a bit nicer, let them do what they want.

"And there's brief success; [Zinedine] Zidane, [Carlo] Ancelotti, maybe even [Alvaro] Arbeloa. And then it all falls apart. And then people say, 'Oh, we need a tough manager to come in and whip these guys into shape'. He comes in, it doesn't work.

"Then they go back to the manager with the arm round the shoulder and the cycle is rinse and repeat. I think they need to break that cycle. And of the names that are being mentioned, Jurgen Klopp could potentially be the most attractive one.

"But it's a really, really important summer for Real Madrid in terms of where they go next, because they've got this squad which is full of terrific individual players, but they haven't been able to build a team with them over the last two years."

If that's the situation in the managerial hotseat, there are also pressing concerns in the composition of the playing squad too.

Three defensive pillars - David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal - are out of contract in the summer, the midfield has struggled since the departures of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, and the forward line has not consistently clicked.

Kitromilides outlined what areas he expects Perez and the club to try and address in the transfer market this summer.

He said: "Obviously, they haven't replaced Kroos, they didn't replace Modric, two players that are legendary figures and almost irreplaceable, but it was patently obvious to most people that they needed some kind of deep-lying playmaker to try and help dominate games, bring the ball out from the back and help with creativity.

"Aurelien Tchouameni, as a defensive holding midfielder, has been possibly Madrid's most consistent and best player this season, but it does feel like he needs someone alongside him.

"They probably should have gone and signed Martin Zubimendi in the summer. It seemed like a really obvious signing for Real Madrid, which they didn't go and do, but they need that kind of profile.

"There are players that have been mentioned, one of them being Adam Wharton, but I'm not sure whether or not they're going to go out and spend the money needed to bring him in. But that kind of player, that kind of profile of player is what Real Madrid really need."

Kitromilides added: "I think they need cover at centre-back as well. Dani Carvajal isn't going to continue, I don't think, at right-back, so they might need cover for Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. They probably need someone at right-wing as well. It feels a little bit unbalanced that nobody necessarily wants to play there.

"So, the squad hasn't been put together particularly well. It's a very unbalanced squad. You have three or four people that want to play on the left-hand side. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior always drift to the left-hand side.

"The right-hand side seems a little bit free and sparse, so someone who wants to play there. I think the midfield issue is something that has been patently obvious all season and they will be looking to fill that hole.

"That is possibly the number one transfer priority; get someone who can be a deep-lying playmaker in the mould of Toni Kroos, although there isn't anyone who can probably do what he did for so many years for Real Madrid.

"And cover at centre-back and see if they can find someone who wants to play right wing."

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