Liverpool fans have spent the past two weeks debating who should be in charge at Anfield next season.
Among the names still in work, Arne Slot is obviously Liverpool’s current head coach, Cesc Fabregas is in charge of Como, Eddie Howe remains Newcastle United boss and Luis Enrique is still leading Paris Saint-Germain.
Jurgen Klopp is also still working in football, although not in club management, with the former Liverpool manager now Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer.
Xabi Alonso has been unattached since leaving Real Madrid by mutual agreement in January, while Enzo Maresca has been without a club since Chelsea announced his exit on 1 January. Steven Gerrard is also currently out of management, leaving readers to weigh up proven names in jobs against big-hitters waiting for their next move.
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Liverpool’s next manager: The bracket
The quarter-finals threw up some emphatic results. Alonso swept past Fabregas with 79 per cent of the vote, which was no real surprise given how beloved he is at Liverpool. Fabregas is an intriguing young coach and has been phenomenal at Como in Serie A, but Alonso is a fan favourite.
Elsewhere, Slot edged past Maresca with 53 per cent — the tightest contest of the lot. Both are managers who have proven they can win silverware, but the current man in charge on Merseyside just about got the nod.
On the other side, Gerrard comfortably beat Howe with 78 per cent. That felt like a vote driven as much by emotion as anything else. Gerrard’s standing at Liverpool is untouchable after a legendary playing career. Howe has undeniably impressed at Newcastle, but he misses out.
Klopp then saw off Enrique with 72 per cent. Enrique’s CV is elite, with Barcelona’s 2014-15 treble and PSG’s first Champions League title the highlights, but Klopp’s bond with Liverpool supporters was always likely to prove too strong.
The semi-finals were even more decisive. Alonso beat Gerrard with 76 per cent, and that makes sense when you compare the two midfielders’ resumes as coaches.
In the other last-four tie, Klopp crushed Slot with 94 per cent of the vote, underlining just how adored he remains on Merseyside — and emphasising how the Dutchman’s popularity has waned this season.
Liverpool’s next manager: The verdict
In the final, Klopp beat Alonso with 69 per cent of the vote to be crowned readers’ choice as Liverpool’s next manager.
That says plenty about Alonso’s appeal, because very few coaches could reach a final against Klopp in a Liverpool fan vote and still take close to a third of the total.
But it also says everything about the legacy Klopp left behind. Alonso may have looked like the sensible football choice, yet when supporters were asked to make the call, their hearts won out. Klopp was the clear champion.
Do you think Jurgen Klopp will re-join Liverpool?
Now, that doesn’t make it any more likely that he returns to Anfield. That door is all but closed. What is obvious from the result of this bracket is that, should he want to come back to Liverpool, Klopp would be welcomed with open arms.
- READ MORE: How Jurgen Klopp’s final Liverpool team compare to 2025/2026 Arsenal in the Premier League
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