Xabi Alonso has gone on record to affirm his position after weeks of reports linking him to the jobs at Real Madrid and Liverpool
Xabi Alonso has broken his slience(Image credit: Getty Images)
Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he will remain in his role as Bayer Leverkusen manager next season amid interest from Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp is set to leave the Reds at the end of the season and the current Bayer Leverkusen head coach has been extensively linked to the role there.
But the Spaniard has affirmed his desire to remain with Bayer for another year at least.
"I am convinced it is the right decision, I am happy," said Alonso at a press conference.
Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season (Image credit: PA Images)
"We have had a lot of speculation regarding my future," he said. "Until now we have had so many games, been pretty busy and focused, and I wanted to reflect during the international break and make a decision.
"The players gave me so many reasons to keep believing in the team - for their commitment, for their desire, for their hunger to have a great season. My job is not over here.
Leverkusen, who are quite remarkably unbeaten in all competitions this season, look set to win their first-ever Bundesliga title under Alonso, who is also seen as a candidate to take over at another of his old clubs Bayern Munich.
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Xabi Alonso is also wanted by his former club Real Madrid (Image credit: Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel will also leave at the end of the campaign and there are suggestions that the Bundesliga giants would like to have Alonso as their replacement.
The former Real Madrid man also admitted that he told Leverkusen's directors of his decision to stay at the club last week.
Alonso signed to Liverpool from Real Sociedad in 2004 and went on to play 210 games for the Reds.
Thomas Tuchel is set to exit Bayern (Image credit: PA)
In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid and then Bayern five years later before retiring. He has been linked with taking the jobs up at all his former clubs.
When asked about the interest, Alonso said: "It wouldn't be correct of me to talk about other clubs when they are in this situation. For sure there are clubs I have a strong link [as] I played there. So I respect them.
"[I have] the conviction I am in the right place at Bayer Leverkusen and I want to keep growing with the club, growing with the players.”
Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.
