Xabi Alonso: Bayer Leverkusen head coach confirms he will leave Bundesliga club at end of the season
Updated 09/05/2025 at 17:47 GMT+1
Xabi Alonso has announced that he will leave his role as Bayer Leverkusen head coach at the end of the current season. The Spaniard enjoyed a remarkable 2023/24 campaign - when he guided his team to a Bundesliga and German Cup double - as they remained unbeaten throughout the domestic season. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to former club Real Madrid in the summer.
Alonso confirms Leverkusen exit ahead of reported Real Madrid move
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Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he will leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season.
The former Liverpool and Spain midfielder enjoyed an incredible 2023/24 campaign with Leverkusen, when he guided them to the Bundesliga and German Cup double.
Leverkusen went unbeaten in the league and cup that season, but were denied a remarkable treble by Serie A side Atalanta in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final.
Alonso confirmed that he would remain as manager for the club's final two games of the season, against Borussia Dortmund and Mainz.
"This week the club and I have agreed that these two games will be my last two games as Bayer Leverkusen coach," Alonso said on Friday.
"We have been talking during this week, and now is the right moment to announce it.
"We have always had good and direct communication, and now that we have clarity, it is the right moment to say that for sure.
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"It is a moment with mixed emotions, but it is the moment to announce it."
Reports in the press have linked Alonso with a return to his former club Real Madrid, where he spent five years as a player.
However, the 43-year-old Spaniard kept his cards close to his chest when questioned about his future.
"It's not the moment to talk about the future," he added.
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"Now we know, we want to have a proper farewell on Sunday for some players and for myself.
"We have to enjoy this moment with mixed emotions."
Leverkusen finished sixth in Alonso's first campaign with the club.
The German side followed up last season's title-winning heroics with a second-place finish in the Bundesliga this time around, with Bayern Munich becoming champions.
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