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Xabi Alonso, manager of Leverkusen, looks on during the Bundesliga game against Freiburg at the Europa-Park Stadium in Freiburg, Germany, March 17, 2024. /CFP
Liverpool and Bayern Munich, who have both been interested in recruiting Leverkusen's manager Xabi Alonso this summer, seemed to have given up.
According to ESPN on Thursday, Liverpool CEO Michael Edwards has decided to move on from Alonso to Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim as leading candidates to succeed Jurgen Klopp. Klopp, who is in his ninth season at Anfield, announced his decision last November to leave after the 2023-24 campaign.
Having joined the Reds in 2015, Klopp led them to their first English top-flight title during the Premier League era, one UEFA Champions League title and one FA Cup, among other honors. The club is currently in second place on the Premier League table with 64 points, the same as league leaders Arsenal, who are ahead on goal difference. Liverpool have also reached the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
Xabi Alonso (L), manager of Bayer Leverkusen, and Thomas Tuchel, manager of Bayern Munich, hug each other ahead of the clubs' Bundesliga meeting at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, February 10, 2024. /CFP
Like Liverpool, Bayern will part ways with incumbent manager Thomas Tuchel after this season, with the difference being that Tuchel is being let go of by the club. Though it's only his second season at Allianz Arena and the club made the Champions League quarterfinals, Bayern are unlikely to win their 12th straight Bundesliga title this season. That, plus Tuchel's tricky relationship with the dressing room, cost him the job.
"[Alonso] is more inclined to stay at Bayer Leverkusen in view of their current successes, because he would not want to leave them behind," Uli Hoeness, honorary president of Bayern, said. "Let's say if he had two or three more years of success, it would probably be easier to bring him out of there."
Alonso played for both Liverpool and Bayern before becoming a manager, winning one Champions League title with the former and three Bundesliga titles with the latter. Leverkusen remain undefeated this season under him with 22 wins, four draws and a 10-point lead over Bayern Munich after 26 games. They are very likely to win their first-ever Bundesliga championship.