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Surprising turnaround for Alonso? First club cancels

Xabi Alonso(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Will things change for Xabi Alonso after all? According to the British media, the first club is said to have turned down the Leverkusen coach.

FC Bayern and Liverpool FC are known to be interested in the Spaniard for the coaching bench from the summer. But now a surprising turnaround is in the offing! As reported by "ESPN" and "Sky Sports UK", citing club sources, Alonso is no longer on the list to succeed outgoing cult coach Jürgen Klopp.

Roberto De Zerbi from Brighton & Hove Albion and Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon are now the top candidates to take over from Klopp. Alonso played at Anfield Road from 2004 to 2009. It is therefore all the more surprising that the Reds do not see the Spaniard as the right man for the coaching position.

Two options
There are probably only two options left: Either he stays at Bayer Leverkusen (contract until 2026) and continues his run of success there, or Bayern can lure the 42-year-old to Säbener Strasse.

On Thursday, Bayern's honorary president Uli Hoeneß described the signing of Xabi Alonso as "probably impossible". "He is now training at a club that is about to become German champions. He owes a lot to this club, and they owe a lot to him," added the 72-year-old. "If he'd had two or three more years of success, it would probably be easier to get him out of there."

One thing is certain: the Liverpool rejection will make Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund prick up their ears.