- The Bayer Leverkusen boss has been linked with moves to Bayern and Liverpool
- Bayern Munich have reportedly opened discussions with Xabi Alonso
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Bayern Munich have reportedly opened talks with Xabi Alonso over him becoming their new manager in the summer – in a potential blow to Liverpool’s chances of landing him.
Alonso, 42, is world football’s most in-demand coach after a hugely successful season with Bayer Leverkusen that sees them 10 points ahead of Bayern in the Bundesliga title race.
Liverpool are keen on the Spaniard to succeed Jurgen Klopp but reports from Germany suggest Bayern – who want a replacement for Thomas Tuchel – have already held discussions with him.
Sky Sport Deutschland reported on Monday night that the first signs were positive for Bayern and that Alonso currently favours them over Liverpool.
Their reporter Florian Plettenberg reported that Alonso feels following on from Klopp’s successful tenure at Anfield is too high a risk.
Klopp has won the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, two League Cups, and the FIFA Club World Cup during his nine years in charge at Liverpool and is adored by the red half of Merseyside.
That would certainly be a more difficult legacy to follow than Tuchel’s unravelling spell at Bayern, with their season essentially hinging on Tuesday night’s Champions League game with Lazio.
Trailing the Italian side 1-0 from the first leg, Bayern need to progress to keep alive their trophy hopes.
Leverkusen look set to end Munich’s 12-year stranglehold on the German top-flight title and secure a first Bundesliga crown having excelled under Alonso’s guidance.
Alonso previously starred for Bayern as a player after leaving Real Madrid and the 42-year-old has given ‘positive signals’ that he would be keen on joining the club in the summer.
However, his exit is expected to cost Germany’s most decorated club between £13m and £21m due to a fixed clause in his contract at Leverkusen.
The final cost will depend on how many trophies they win this season with a ‘treble’ of Bundesliga, German Cup and UEFA Europa League a possibility.
As well as opening up a 10-point lead at the Bundesliga summit, Leverkusen resume their Europa League campaign in the last-16 stage against Qarabag this Thursday and play Fortuna Dusseldorf in the German Cup semi-finals next month.
Alonso’s existing deal at the league leaders currently runs until the summer of 2026.
The news comes as a huge blow to Liverpool who are also keeping tabs on Alonso as a potential successor to Klopp.
Liverpool made the shock announcement in January that Klopp has decided to leave the club at the end of the season and Alonso has been linked with the upcoming vacancy ever since.
Alonso won the Champions League as an Anfield star in 2005 and has always maintained a close affinity with fans of the club.
Klopp previously heaped praise on Alonso recently, stating: ‘Xabi is doing an incredible job.
‘The ‘dinosaurs’ like Ancelotti, Mourinho, Guardiola and myself will not do it for 20 more years but the next generation is already there. I would say Xabi is stand-out in that department.
‘He was a world-class player, like a coach already, and the team he has set up is exceptional. Not only the points tally but the way they play.’
Share or comment on this article: Xabi Alonso ‘has revealed his reason for leaning towards Bayern Munich over Liverpool’, German sources claim, as world’s most-wanted manager ‘holds first, positive, talks’ to put Anfield on alert
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
