Xabi Alonso has refused to discuss ongoing speculation linking him with upcoming summer vacancies at former clubs Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
The 42-year-old has become one of the most highly-rated rookie coaches in Europe since joining Leverkusen in late 2022. It’s only natural that Liverpool and Bayern will also be interested in his services if both are soon. it needs a new manager.
“Maybe you have questions about my future. I don’t have anything new to say about that. I wanted to say it upfront. Right now I’m the coach here, that’s for sure. I don’t have anything new to say going forward.” we’ll see,” Alonso said, speaking to the media in Germany for the first time since Bayern announced that Thomas Tuchel would leave the club at the end of the season.
While Liverpool’s priority is to appoint a new sporting director following the departure of short-term Jorg Schmadtke at the end of January, Alonso figures on a shortlist already drawn up by the Anfield hierarchy alongside Roberto De Zerbi and Ange Postecoglou.
According to reports, Bayern had their eye on Alonso, who represented the club at the very end of his playing career, even before deciding to pull out of Tuchel’s short reign in Bavaria.
Alonso would obviously be a popular choice for Liverpool fans. He won an unexpected Champions League title in his first season as a player there and was part of the team that steered Manchester United all the way to the 2008/09 Premier League title. His son was even born in Liverpool.
But Alonso also has obvious ties to Germany. Regardless of his past at Bayern, a move to Munich from Leverkusen would probably be less of an upheaval than a return to England.
The immediate focus, he pointed out, is the rest of this season. Leverkusen have earned the cruel nickname ‘Neverkusen’ over the years due to their ability to fall at the last hurdle, as evidenced by finishing second in the Bundesliga five times in the last 30 years without ever winning it.
The 2001/02 season was particularly painful in this regard, as Leverkusen’s iconic generation came in with a chance of a treble, but they finished second in the Bundesliga and lost both the DFB Pokal and Champions League finals to end the campaign with nothing. .
Alonso will be hoping to finally shake off that tag with an impressive eight-point lead with 12 games remaining in the current league table ahead of Bayern, who have won every title since 2012.
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