Jurgen Klopp exit: Next move predicted as Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher names ideal replacement

Jamie Carragher says he cannot imagine Jurgen Klopp managing Real Madrid or Barcelona after leaving Liverpool – and reckons Xabi Alonso would be his ideal replacement at Anfield.

Klopp rocked the football world last week by announcing that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, having arrived on Merseyside in October 2015, citing burnout.

The former Borussia Dortmund coach oversaw Liverpool’s most successful spell during the Premier League era, securing the title in 2020 – a year after guiding the club to a historic sixth Champions League triumph.

Carragher believes that Klopp “will have options” if he decides to return to the dugout, suggesting he could become the  manager of the Germany national team after this summer’s European Championships.

Bu the former Liverpool defender is convinced that Klopp will not turn up at Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona – also on the lookout for a new boss for next season after Xavi announced his departure at the end of the current campaign – claiming the nature of both clubs would not suit his management style.

READ MORE: Who will replace Jurgen Klopp as next Liverpool manager? Ange in the running

He told Sky Bet: “[There’s] almost this feeling [in Germany] that he’ll end up being the German manager. [Julian] Naglesmann is the manager until the tournament, it’s an interim thing. Whether that will be enough for him or whether he’d want to do that straight away [who knows].

“Once he’s had a break, I think he will want to get back into something.

“He said he wanted a year out after Dortmund but three months later he was managing Liverpool, so in his head I don’t think he has anything lined up but if something comes up that you can’t say no to [who knows].

“He will have options, but I couldn’t imagine Jurgen Klopp managing Real Madrid or Barcelona, for him it’s about the emotion and the crowd – Dortmund against Munich, Liverpool against the world.

“The clubs that he’s been at, it’s been built on emotion, Dortmund with that big stand, Anfield – I can’t see him sitting there, watching Barcelona playing tiki-tacky football.

“I look at some clubs and think where does he go? Liverpool suits him more than everyone.”

Carragher claimed there is no magic to replacing a highly successful manager, citing David Moyes’ disastrous stint at Manchester United after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

But he believes former Liverpool team-mate Xabi Alonso – whose Bayer Leverkusen side sit top of the Bundesliga – would be a fitting successor to Klopp due to his affinity with the club, his current success in Germany and his experience of playing under some of the leading coaches of his generation.

Carragher said: “There is no secret [to replacing a great manager], everyone feels like they have a plan to go forward. Sir Alex Ferguson picked the next manager, he thought he was helping the club by bringing David Moyes in.

“For me, if we’re talking about who should come in, I think it should be Xabi Alonso.

“He is very inexperienced in management, having managed just 60 or 70 games, but what you would have straight away is the club on side.

“Not just because he’s an ex-Liverpool player, but because of the respect he had as a player and what he’s done at Bayern Leverkusen within 18 months is remarkable.

“They were in the relegation zone when he came in and he almost qualified for the Champions League last year and got to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.

“This season, they are top of the league and in the Europa League.

“You think of the managers he’s been managed by – Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, and the football they play.

“He’s the type of guy that if he came in, he’d have the crowd straight away.”