Bayer Leverkusen chief confident Xabi Alonso will reject Liverpool, Bayern Munich

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 20 March 2024

Leverkusen chief confident Alonso will reject Liverpool, Bayern

Bayer Leverkusen director Fernando Carro says that he remains confident that Xabi Alonso will reject the advances of Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Director Fernando Carro is confident that head coach Xabi Alonso will remain at Bayer Leverkusen past the end of the season.

Having moved Leverkusen away from the relegation zone and into the top six of the Bundesliga during 2022-23, Alonso was already attracting attention from elsewhere.

However, Leverkusen's form throughout this campaign has taken his reputation to another level, with his team yet to lose in 38 matches in all competitions.

Leverkusen are currently 10 points clear of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, while they have also reached the Europa League quarter-finals and DFB-Pokal semi-finals.

Although Alonso has frequently insisted that his only focus is life at Leverkusen, speculation is naturally persisting that he will receive offers from elsewhere.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match on January 13, 2024 © Reuters

Liverpool and Bayern - two of his former clubs from his playing days - are both keen on the Spaniard as they prepare for life after Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel respectively.

Other clubs may also come into the mix in due course, but the English and German giants are generally regarded as the frontrunners for the 42-year-old's signature.

Nevertheless, speaking to BILD, Carro has revealed that he has few concerns over Alonso taking on a new challenge at this stage of his managerial career.

Carro said: "He has a contract until 2026 and there is no reason to doubt that he will stay here. In football you never know what will happen. But I have a lot of trust, we have a very good relationship.

Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on March 10, 2024 © Reuters

"I'm very relaxed, like [sporting director] Simon Rolfes. We have been planning the squad for next season for a long time – with Xabi Alonso.

"We have a list of coaches that is always updated, we have to be prepared in case things turn out differently than we think. But I don't think it will happen like that."

Alonso is presently preparing for a number of pivotal matches, starting with a league game against Hoffenheim on March 30 after the international break.

The last-four contest against Fortuna Dusseldorf in the DFB-Pokal comes four days later, while the two-legged Europa League quarter-final versus West Ham United is to be completed on April 18.