Florentino Perez wants former Prem icon as next Real Madrid manager – it’s NOT Jurgen Klopp

Two separate reports have confirmed a highly-regarded manager who previously became an icon at a Premier League side is wanted as the next Real Madrid manager, and Florentino Perez is particularly keen.

Perez is the kingmaker at Real Madrid, with no major decision made without his approval. A huge call is on the horizon for the club president – who to succeed Alvaro Arbeloa as the new permanent manager.

The decision has assumed even greater significance than it otherwise might have with Real Madrid in an unusually difficult spot right now.

Los Blancos are regularly bested by Barcelona on the domestic front, and for the second straight season, they’ve failed to make it beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

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According to The Athletic’s Mario Cortegana, four managers have been shortlisted by Real Madrid – Jurgen Klopp, Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Mauricio Pochettino.

A subsequent update from RMC Sport’s Fabrice Hawkins confirmed Klopp, Deschamps and Pochettino are in Real’s sights, and from that trio, the choice looks increasingly obvious – former Tottenham hero, Pochettino.

Hawkins wrote on X: ‘Mauricio Pochettino is on Real Madrid’s shortlist to take over from Alvaro Arbeloa. He is highly regarded internally, particularly by president Florentino Perez.

‘The executive has gathered information on his profile and his ability to handle the pressure in Madrid.

‘Jurgen Klopp also has his supporters, but the German, who is football director at Red Bull, recently stated that he has no intention of returning to the bench.

‘Didier Deschamps is also among the names checked off by the club’s bosses.’

As mentioned by Hawkins, Klopp is admired in Madrid but the expectation is he won’t green-light a return to management, even for a club as powerful and enticing as Real Madrid.

Zidane has a verbal agreement in place to succeed Deschamps as manager of the French national team after the World Cup. Barring a U-turn, that should rule Zidane out of the running.

That leaves Deschamps and Pochettino in the frame, but with Perez rating Pochettino ‘particularly’ highly, you’d assume that stands the Argentine in good stead.

Pochettino a Tottenham icon – but is he ready for Real Madrid?

Pochettino is currently managing the USMNT ahead of a World Cup on home soil. As such, he’d not be available to hire until after the World Cup.

The 54-year-old is held in high regard in England for the work he did with Tottenham between 2014-19.

While no trophies were banked, Spurs produced their three highest ever finishes in the Premier League era on his watch (one second-placed finish and two third-place finishes).

Tottenham also made it to the Champions League final in the 2018/19 campaign before falling to Liverpool. That is the furthest Spurs have ever reached in the Champions League/European Cup.

Since leaving Spurs in 2019, Pochettino lifted three trophies during an 18-month spell at PSG before lasting just one year at Chelsea. He moved across the Atlantic and into international football with the USA in 2024.

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