According to reports from Germany, Liverpool are one of three clubs with whom Xabi Alonso has an ‘agreement’ regarding a potential managerial stint in the future.
SportBILD claimed [via Sport Witness] that the 41-year-old has a clause in his contract at Bayer Leverkusen which’d allow him to depart next summer if the Reds – or two of his other alma maters in Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – were to offer him the manager’s job.
The hierarchy at the BayArena are ‘currently doing everything then can to satisfy their coach, believing that they are on the path to success with him in charge’, although the LaLiga giants are already reported to have eyed him up as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor at the Bernabeu.
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Of the three clubs involved in the reported agreement, Liverpool probably seem the least likely to hire Alonso next summer.
Ancelotti’s contract in Madrid expires in 2024, with the ex-Chelsea boss touted to take the Brazil national team job, while Thomas Tuchel could possibly be on thin ice at Bayern amid claims that honorary president Uli Hoeness ‘continues to stir up managerial winds behind the scenes’ in Munich.
By contrast, Jurgen Klopp is contracted at Anfield until 2026 and has a mountain of credit in the bank among the fan base.
However, even if Alonso were to take the manager’s job at the Bernabeu or Allianz Arena next year, there’s still a good chance that he’d ultimately take over from the current Liverpool boss on Merseyside.
Real Madrid and Bayern have both sacked coaches in the past despite them leading – or even winning – their domestic league, a cut-throat culture which is in marked contrast to that at LFC.
By the time Klopp goes in 2026 (as per the current plan), Alonso may well be on the market again if one of his other previous clubs both hires and fires him in the meantime, and he’d very likely be given the scope to properly make his mark in the Anfield dugout.