Klopp Breaks His Silence: The Team He's Rooting For in Sunday's Epic Clasico Showdown

Jürgen Klopp has admitted he will be cheering for Barcelona when he tunes in to watch El Clásico this weekend, as he tends to back the "better team" in the storied rivalry.

Barça and Madrid clash for the first time in 2026–27, with the two sides set to meet at Camp Nou this Sunday in what is expected to be a spectacular encounter.

Hansi Flick's side can extend their lead over Madrid to nine points with a victory, which would also see Barça set a new record for the most consecutive wins at the start of a La Liga season—they are currently unbeaten through nine matches and are looking to make it 10.

José Mourinho and his squad, meanwhile, are determined to rain on the parade and demonstrate they remain genuine title contenders after an inconsistent start to the season.

Klopp Sides With Barcelona

Meetings between Barcelona and Madrid are always a highlight of the soccer calendar, but this particular fixture carries extra weight due to Mourinho's comeback and the outstanding form of Ballon d'Or contenders Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, among others.

Germany head coach Klopp will be among the millions of fans watching globally on Sunday, as he disclosed to DAZN during the halftime break of Bayern Munich's 2–2 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League.

"Of course I'll watch El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. I've followed this fixture at every point in my life," he said.

When asked about his personal allegiances, the former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss confessed he has historically leaned toward Barça.

"In the past, I was more of a Barcelona supporter because I was against the conduct of Pepe and other Madrid defenders," he is quoted as saying.

"Today, I back the better team. And looking at the current situation, that is probably Barcelona."

Jürgen Klopp Record vs. Barcelona and Real Madrid

Klopp reportedly turned down advances from Real Madrid before signing with Liverpool in 2015, and he went on to suffer defeat in two Champions League finals (2018, 2022) against Los Blancos during his time at Anfield.

While he will be watching as a supporter, Klopp will have a personal stake in the performance of one particular player on Sunday: Barcelona's German forward Karim Adeyemi.

Madrid could also field Antonio Rüdiger, though the German centre-back stepped away from international football earlier this year.

Barcelona Chasing History

Should Barcelona claim victory at home on Sunday, they will become the first club in La Liga history to win 10 straight matches at the beginning of a season.

Their 5–2 triumph over Real Betis last week saw Barça match the nine-game winning streak established by Real Madrid under Miguel Muñoz at the start of the 1968–69 campaign—a record they now have the opportunity to break against their fiercest rivals this weekend.

It has been a blistering beginning for Flick's team, who have averaged 4.33 goals per game thus far and may quietly have their sights set on a string of league records this campaign.

Just as he was 13 years ago, Mourinho will be desperate to bring the celebrations to a halt.