Will Xabi Alonso stay in Leverkusen?

It’s time for the Bundesliga again after the international break. Leaders Leverkusen will also be challenged in Saturday’s duel against Hoffenheim.

The day before, coach Xabi Alonso may also have spoken about his future. Will he stay with Leverkusen over the season? The press conference in the live ticker.

Will Alonso stay in Leverkusen?

According to a report, Xabi Alonso will stay at Bayer Leverkusen next season. According to the portal “The Athletic”, FC Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC are currently assuming that the most sought-after football coach in Europe will not be available this summer and are intensively looking for other options. This report is also confirmed by “Kicker”, “Sport1” and “Bild”.

Accordingly, the English, who are looking for a successor to outgoing coach Jürgen Klopp, have been aware for a long time that Alonso is unlikely to leave the factory club. ESPN and Sky Sports UK also reported that former Liverpool professional Alonso is no longer on the Reds’ list when looking for a coach.

Surprising turnaround in the Xabi Alonso case

Xabi Alonso is perhaps the most sought-after coach in Europe due to his success with Bayer Leverkusen. A decision about his future is getting closer.

The sought-after coach Xabi Alonso is apparently staying at Bayer Leverkusen beyond the summer. As the well-informed sports portal “The Athletic” reports, FC Bayern and Liverpool FC should assume that the Spaniard will stay with the Bundesliga leaders. Alonso was considered the top candidate at both clubs, as both Thomas Tuchel (FC Bayern) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool FC) were leaving their coaching positions.

Sky and “Bild” also wrote on Friday morning that Xabi Alonso will not become coach of FC Bayern Munich, but will stay in Leverkusen. According to Sky, FC Bayern has now been informed of the decision.

Due to the well-known applicants, it was considered likely that the coach of Bayer Leverkusen would follow the call of a larger club. Now, apparently, the turning point.

According to “The Athletic”, Bayern and Liverpool are now reorienting themselves and pushing for other options. Bavaria’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß had already caused a stir in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk on Thursday when he practically ruled out signing Alonso: “We’ll see whether that will be successful this year, it will be very difficult, if not to say probably impossible .” At the time, however, it could not be ruled out that this was just a negotiating tactic.

Who could come instead of Alonso?

Other coaching candidates in Munich are Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton & Hove Albion) and Ralf Rangnick (Austria national team). The names of Antonio Conte and Zinédine Zidane (both without a club) have also been linked to FC Bayern. Sports director Max Eberl did not want to comment specifically on any names in an interview with Sky, but also said that he wanted a decision as quickly as possible without falling into a rush.

Xabi Alonso has been the coach of Bayer Leverkusen since October 2022. The 42-year-old led the “Werkself” from the bottom of the table into the Europa League. In the current season, Alonso is still unbeaten in all competitions with Leverkusen.

In the Bundesliga, Bayer is ten points clear at the top, in the DFB Cup semi-finals the team will face local rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf (2nd Bundesliga) and in the Europa League they will face West Ham United in the quarter-finals.