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Klopp dismisses Real Madrid speculation as ‘nonsense’ and denies any contact

ISMANING, Germany (AP) — Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has dismissed as “nonsense” a suggestion he could take over as Real Madrid coach next season and said he hasn’t heard from the Spanish club.

Klopp hasn’t coached since his shock departure from Liverpool in 2024, when he said he was “running out of energy.” He’s stayed in the game as the Red Bull group’s head of global soccer, overseeing clubs like Leipzig, Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls.

“It’s all just nonsense. They haven’t even called once, not one single time. And my agent is over there, you can ask him too, they haven’t called him either,” Klopp said in televised comments about speculation linking him to Real Madrid.

He was speaking at an event on Monday in his role as a TV pundit for the World Cup.

Klopp didn’t rule out a return to coaching someday but said he wasn’t thinking about the Germany job in case Julian Nagelsmann were to leave after the World Cup.

“At the moment I’m obviously not thinking about that at all and luckily there isn’t any reason to do that,” he said in comments reported by German agency dpa.

Last month, Red Bull said it was “extremely satisfied” with Klopp’s work after a report in an Austrian newspaper claimed his role was in question because the drinks giant’s clubs hadn’t made enough progress in the year since he took charge.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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