Former Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso continues to be linked with the manager’s role at Liverpool, his former club in England, after leaving Real Madrid last month
Xabi Alonso is available after leaving Real Madrid(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City is interested in hiring Xabi Alonso as Pep Guardiola’s replacement – casting doubt over a potential return to Liverpool.
Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso has been strongly linked with the Anfield job since he left Real Madrid in January. The Reds are struggling under current manager Arne Slot, as they sit sixth in the Premier League table and are out of the title race.
Slot has eased the pressure on himself following Liverpool’s big wins against Qarabag in the Champions League and Newcastle in the Premier League. The Reds have reached the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition and are still in the FA Cup.
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While it’s unlikely Slot will lose his job in the near future, Liverpool may seek a change if the team fails to qualify for next season’s Champions League and ends the 2025-26 campaign without silverware. Should that happen, Alonso may just be the ideal candidate.
Alonso is one of the most highly rated managers in European soccer after winning the Bundesliga title, German Cup and German Super Cup with Bayer Leverkusen. He also led the German team to the 2024 Europa League final, losing to Italian side Atalanta.
Alonso also did reasonably well at Real Madrid. He achieved a win rate of more than 70 percent and left Madrid with the team still in contention in both the La Liga title race and Champions League. His stock remains high, despite lasting just 34 games at Madrid.
Arne Slot is under pressure at Anfield(Image: Getty Images)
But if Liverpool’s hierarchy wants to hire Alonso, they may need to act quickly. That’s because the Spaniard is being touted as a potential successor to Guardiola at City.
According to The Telegraph, Alonso is set to feature on a three-man shortlist to replace Guardiola. City bosses fear that Guardiola, who is under contract until June 2027, will call time on his glittering 10-year spell at the Etihad at the end of the current season.
The 55-year-old has achieved staggering success in Manchester, leading City to six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, three Community Shields, the Champions League, European Super Cup, and Club World Cup.
Yet Guardiola may decide it’s time for a break. He’s not had any time off from management since leaving Barcelona during the summer of 2012, having joined City in July 2016 immediately after a three-year spell in charge of Bayern Munich.
Guardiola is the second-longest serving manager in the top four tiers of English soccer after Simon Weaver, who has been in charge of League Two side Harrogate Town since 2009. The Spanish coach has taken charge of more than 1,000 games in professional soccer.
The other two names on City’s shortlist are Enzo Maresca and Cesc Fabregas.
Maresca, 45, has held coaching positions at the Etihad in recent years. He guided Leicester to the Championship title in 2024 before winning the Conference League and Club World Cup with Chelsea the following year. The Italian left Stamford Bridge last month.
Fabregas is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after managers in Europe. The 38-year-old is a two-time Serie A Coach of the Month and has guided Como, a relatively small team in Italy, to sixth in the Serie A table, just six points behind AC Milan in second.