Will Xabi Alonso Stay At Leverkusen Or Leave For Real Madrid?

The celebrations were almost a bit subdued after Bayer Leverkusen beat FC Augsburg 2-0 on matchday 31. After all, the result only seems to delay the inevitable, Bayern Munich reclaiming the Bundesliga title, which could happen as early as next weekend.

Overall, it feels like losing the title to Bayern this season could have been avoided. But in the dying days, the disappointment of a season that is very much defined by what could have been is replaced by the anxiety of potentially losing head coach Xabi Alonso.

Without a doubt, Alonso was the architect of Leverkusen’s success. Driven by the brilliant Florian Wirtz, midfield genius Granit Xhaka, and a strong defense built around goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and center-back Jonathan Tah, Leverkusen made history by becoming the first club in Bundesliga history to stay undefeated throughout an entire campaign.

It could have been the start of a new dawn. But one year on, despite still being within a chance of collecting the second most points in club history, there is now a sense that I could all fall apart.

Much of it is linked with what is currently happening at Real Madrid. Reports out of Spain have increasingly linked Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti with the Brazil job. The Italian head coach has been under fire at Real after crashing out in the Champions League and losing the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona.

That departure could be made official as early as this upcoming week. With Ancelotti’s departure official, Real is understood to favor Leverkusen boss Alonso as his successor.

Under contract until 2026, Alonso has evaded questions about his future in Leverkusen. “We want to end the season in the best possible fashion,” Alonso said after the win over Augsburg. “After that, we will see what happens.”

Unlike last season when Alonso publicly announced early on that he would stay at Bayer, the Spaniard has avoided answering questions about his future. “Last year there was something to decide about,” Alonso said earlier this season. “This year that it isn’t the case.”

With Ancelotti’s future now on the balance, that might change soon. Alonso will have to decide something. To stay at Bayer or perhaps join Real Madrid. Either way, his current club wants an answer.

“To have clarity would be good for everyone without a doubt,” director of sport Simon Rolfes said after the Augsburg game. “Xabi knows this. We want to have a decision by the end of the season. But that’s not much longer anyhow. So, we will have a decision very soon.”

Either way, you could sense around the team that the topic has been in the player’s heads. Perhaps it was even a factor for recent results that have seen Bayern more or less stroll to the title over the last few weeks?

“The squad is very restless,” midfielder Robert Andrich said. “Of course, we players are aware of everything that is going on. I would lie if it didn’t go to my heart and that I didn’t think about the situation. The closer we get to the end of the season the more it is a topic within the squad.”

Then Andrich added another important sentence. “We always find out that stuff through the media,” Andrich said. A sentence that speaks volumes about the inner climate of the squad and the club overall.

Ultimately, there is a bit of a sense at the club that the once-harmonic togetherness is now gone. In its stead, there is confusion and even discontent among some players who didn’t receive expected playing time.

One example is Jonas Hofmann, who criticized Alonso for his lack of playing time and the lack of communication from the Spanish bench boss. “We talk very little,” Hofmann said to kicker. “I will have to be careful what I do say next.”

Rather than protecting the coach, Rolfes, however, opted to guard Hofmann instead. “Over the last few months, Jonas, considering his level and his aspirations certainly didn’t play enough,” Rolfes said. “I understand that some players are frustrated that they haven’t played enough. That’s human.”

It is telling that Rolfes in this instance protected the players rather than the head coach. It suggests that the Leverkusen director of sport isn’t necessarily planning with Alonso in the long term.

There is no doubt that Leverkusen would like to have clarity. Perhaps Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti will provide that clarity over the coming days. Otherwise, Leverkusen will have to wait, potentially until May 25 when the season in Spain ends.