Official: Xabi Alonso to Leave Bayer Leverkusen Amid Real Madrid Links
Bayer Leverkusen has officially announced that head coach Xabi Alonso will leave the club at the end of the 2025/26 season, fueling suggestions he could soon join Real Madrid.
The Spaniard has been in charge of the Bundesliga side for more than two and a half years, and was instrumental in helping Leverkusen win its first-ever German title in the 2023/24 season. They also won the DFB Pokal and the Supercup under Alonso's guidance.
Having been pipped to the Bundesliga title by Bayern Munich this season, Alonso is now seeking a new challenge and in the official announcement, Leverkusen says it has "met the wish of the Spaniard to terminate his contract originally due to run to the summer of 2026 after the end of this season."
It is news that will prick the ears of Real Madrid fans, given the former Los Blancos midfielder has been heavily linked with replacing Carlo Ancelotti, who is expected to leave come the end of this season.
After almost two-and-a-half years, and during the most successful period in the club's history, our head coach, @XabiAlonso, will leave #Bayer04 at the end of the season. pic.twitter.com/SinXlkWJIJ
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) May 9, 2025
Real Madrid is yet to announce the Italian's departure, but it is widely believed that his time in the Spanish capital is up, and few fans would have a problem with Alonso being appointed as his successor. Alonso was heavily linked with the Liverpool job last summer, but he chose to spend another year at Leverkusen.
I owe great thanks to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, my players and staff, all the employees of the club and last but not least the fantastic fans. Our success was the result of an outstanding team performance. This club, who showed exceptional trust in me, very much deserved to win the German league title for the first time. My thanks and admiration go to everybody who helped to make this triumph happen including the DFB Pokal win in Berlin.Xabi Alonso
One report recently suggested that Leverkusen could attempt to sign Alvaro Arbeloa as its new coach. He is currently the Real Madrid U19 coach and is viewed as a potential Real Madrid first-team coach further down the line.
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Euan is an experienced soccer writer who has been featured by The Guardian, MARCA, 90min, Sempre Milan and many more similar publications. He secured a first-class degree in journalism at Liverpool John Moores University and his career has seen him primarily focus on European football, developing an in-depth knowledge of multiple clubs and leagues in the process.
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