{"id":693383,"date":"2026-01-13T15:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693383\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T15:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:22:11","slug":"liverpool-city-or-spain-where-next-for-xabi-alonso-sports-news-blitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/693383\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool, City or Spain? Where next for Xabi Alonso \u2014 Sports News Blitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe\u2019s elite circle around Alonso<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liverpool<\/strong><\/p>\n

As soon as Alonso\u2019s exit from Madrid was announced, the 44-year-old\u2019s name was inevitably linked with Liverpool as uncertainty around Arne Slot\u2019s future continues.<\/p>\n

Slot has overseen a recent upturn in form following a disastrous October and November that effectively ended Liverpool\u2019s hopes of retaining the Premier League title.<\/p>\n

The Reds are now 11 games unbeaten in all competitions.<\/p>\n

However, the scale of the downturn remains difficult to ignore. Liverpool\u2019s struggles came despite \u00a3446million being spent in the summer, raising questions about Slot\u2019s ability to mould his own side after succeeding Jurgen Klopp in 2024.<\/p>\n

Former midfielder Alonso, who was previously considered as a successor to Klopp before committing to another season at Bayer Leverkusen following an invincible Bundesliga title-winning campaign, could appeal to Liverpool\u2019s hierarchy.<\/p>\n

His familiarity with summer signings Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong strengthens that argument, as does his history at Anfield.<\/p>\n

Alonso made 143 appearances over five years and played a key role in the club\u2019s iconic Champions League triumph in Istanbul.<\/p>\n

Whether Liverpool\u2019s ownership would be willing to act decisively on Slot\u2019s future remains the key question.<\/p>\n

Manchester City<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is almost impossible to imagine Manchester City without Pep Guardiola, though rival supporters can only hope that day eventually arrives.<\/p>\n

There have been murmurs this season regarding Guardiola\u2019s long-term future, with reports linking the club to Enzo Maresca, hinting that change at the Etihad may not be too far away.<\/p>\n

Guardiola\u2019s current deal runs until 2027 and, while City would be happy to extend it, the decision will ultimately rest with the Catalan as he approaches 10 years at a single club for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n

Alonso could be viewed as a natural successor, having worked under Guardiola at Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n

However, following his difficult spell replacing Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid, stepping into Guardiola\u2019s shadow would represent another enormous challenge.<\/p>\n

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: <\/strong>FA Cup news: Aston Villa outclass Tottenham in North London to advance into the fourth round<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s elite circle around Alonso Liverpool As soon as Alonso\u2019s exit from Madrid was announced, the 44-year-old\u2019s name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-693383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-spain"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115888478169542719","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}