It’s not official yet, but there seems to be little doubt that Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen for Real Madrid at the end of this season. After Real were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by Arsenal and lost in the Copa del Rey final to arch-rivals Barcelona, who are also on course to win the Spanish title, Carlo Ancelotti’s days in Madrid appear to be numbered.
Alonso is thought to be Madrid President Florentino Perez’ preferred replacement. Although his contract at Leverkusen runs until the end of next season, Alonso has an escape clause that would allow him to leave early to take an offer from any of his three former clubs – Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The potential transfer fee for Leverkusen is thought to be between €15 and €20 million ($17 million – $23 million).
So far, the 43-year-old has been evasive when asked by reporters about his future.
“I don’t know what will happen,” he said last week. A year ago, when he was being courted by Liverpool and Bayern, he put an early end to such speculation.
Doing the double
Alonso joined Leverkusen in October 2022, when the club were languishing at 17th in the Bundesliga table. The Spaniard, who had never previously held a head coaching position at a professional club, promptly led them to Europa League qualification before achieving something previously unprecedented in German football.
Bayer Leverkusen won their first Bundesliga title by going undefeated in the league in 2023-2024, before adding a second German Cup to the club’s trophy case. In the Europa League, Bayer lost to Atalanta in the final. Before that extraordinary campaign, the club’s last silverware of any kind had been their first German Cup title in 1993.
Alonso instilled in his players a winning mentality that they had always previously lacked in crucial matches. The ability to regularly turn close games around with late goals during the 2023-24 season earned the team the nickname “Laterkusen.”
Bitter defeats, missed opportunities
This season, however, Alonso’s team have often lacked this quality. Although Bayer have collected the second-highest number of points in their history, they’ve left too many on the table through draws.
Bayern Munich look set to cruise to the title, with Leverkusen a distant second – albeit with a significant lead over third place.
Leverkusen also lost to Bayern in the round-of-16 of the Champions League. The loss to third-division side Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup was particularly bitter for Alonso and his team.
“The tactics were perhaps not the best,” the coach conceded shortly after the surprise cup exit, and weeks later, he was still smarting from the upset.
“I still feel the pain because we missed a huge opportunity to go to Berlin and play in another final.”
Whither Florian Wirtz?
Alonso’s expected departure could be an added argument for superstar Florian Wirtz to leave. The attacker has been linked with Manchester City but could also follow Alonso to Real Madrid. Bayern Munich are also keen to sign the 21-year-old, at an expected cost of €120 to €130 million.
Xavi to succeed Xabi? Or ten Hag?
Should Alonso leave, the top priority for the Werkself will be finding a replacement. Club management are already quietly doing their homework.
Among the names making the rounds in the rumor mill are former Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag, Imanol Alguacil, Xavi Hernandez, and Cesc Fabregas.
The 53-year-old Alguacil is currently coaching at Real Sociedad but has announced his intention to leave at the end of the season. Xavi, who won World Cups and European Championships alongside Alonso with Spain, most recently coached Barcelona (2021-2024), winning one La Liga title and two Copa del Rey. Fabregas took over as head coach of newly promoted Serie A side Como last summer.
Whether ten Hag or any of the three Spaniards will actually turn up in Leverkusen remains to be seen. However, the club’s experience with a Spanish coach who had never previously coached a Bundesliga team – and the fact that Leverkusen’s managing director, Fernando Carro, happens to be Spanish – are two arguments in favor of replacing Alonso with one of his countrymen.
This article was originally published in German.
