A reliable German football reporter has shared his latest information on Xabi Alonso, and it doesn’t make for encouraging reading from a Liverpool perspective.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss remains the favourite of many to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield in the summer, but his phenomenal work in the Bundesliga has also prompted interest from Bayern Munich, with another of his former clubs in Real Madrid being cited as a possible destination too.
Indeed, writing in his Fact Files for Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, Christian Falk claimed that the Bernabeu could be the 42-year-old’s next move once his time at the BayArena concludes.
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The reporter outlined: “Xabi Alonso remains silent about his future. Fewer and fewer believe that it will be Liverpool FC. FC Bayern is also still waiting for a signal from Alonso. Leverkusen officials remain adamant that Alonso will continue to be their coach next season.
“There is now a rumour: Alonso is staying in Leverkusen to become Carlo Ancelotti’s successor at Real Madrid. Ancelotti has extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2026.
“Alonso’s contract in Leverkusen is valid for just as long. Alonso, who also only extended his contract in the summer, could remain loyal to his club – and then return to his home country of Spain.”
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About the only thing we can say with much certainly regarding Alonso’s future is that it’s very much in his hands, considering how vastly successful his time at Leverkusen has been.
Were he to request improved terms to stay with the Bundesliga leaders, he could just name his price and the board would surely oblige. In a similar vein, with Liverpool and Bayern both clamouring to get him, he’ll know that he has his pick of either club to the extent that he may be able to dictate matters to a significant degree.
Falk’s assertion that ‘fewer believe’ the 42-year-old will replace Klopp at Anfield could sicken Reds supporters who are pinning their hopes on the Spaniard coming in at the end of May, especially if the plan is for him to play the long game over possibly taking over from Ancelotti in Madrid.
The risk of that possible strategy is that, by the time the Bernabeu job becomes available, Alonso’s stock mightn’t be as lofty as now if Leverkusen regress, or maybe the Los Blancos hierarchy become more enamoured by another coach who’s more in vogue by 2026.
Despite this less than auspicious update from one of Germany’s most trusted journalists, we remain hopeful that Liverpool will ultimately win the race for Alonso’s services, especially now that Richard Hughes is in place as sporting director to step up the manager search.