Xabi Alonso has announced he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season.
Alonso, who guided the club to their first ever Bundesliga title in 2023-24 and won the German double in an unbeaten domestic campaign, confirmed his decision ahead of Sunday’s match at home to Borussia Dortmund.
That will be the 43-year-old’s final match at Leverkusen’s BayArena, affording him the opportunity to say his goodbyes in front of the club’s fans.
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“This week, the club and I have agreed these will be my last two games as Leverkusen coach,” Alonso said at his press conference on Friday.
“This is the right moment to announce it because we have always had this good communication with the club.
“We have to enjoy this moment with mixed emotions, it is emotional! I spoke to the players and the staff it was not easy.
“We’ve had a great connection and that’s been the key. They believed in me and they’ve followed me.
“I want to have a proper goodbye this weekend.
“It has been a long, meaningful and successful time here at this club. I want to give the respect (they have shown me) back, until the very last day.”
Alonso held a meeting with Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro and sporting director Simon Rolfes this week in which he confirmed his decision to leave the Bundesliga side.
Alonso’s final match in charge will be away at Mainz on May 17, with the announcement coming after Bayern Munich clinched the league title ahead of second-placed Leverkusen.
On April 21, Carro said he expected a resolution on Alonso’s future within three to four weeks.
The former Madrid central midfielder, who won La Liga and the Champions League during his spell in the Spanish capital, had been identified as the club’s first choice to replace Ancelotti in the dugout this summer.
The Athletic have reported talks between people representing Alonso and Madrid have taken place this season with a possibility that the former Spain international takes charge at the Bernabeu this summer.
Ancelotti is set to leave his position as Madrid head coach at the end of the current La Liga campaign after reaching an agreement over his departure, with the Brazil national team his most likely destination.
Brazil had identified the 65-year-old Italian as their first choice to take the nation into the 2026 World Cup and have been keen to appoint a new head coach ahead of the June international break.
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An agreement is in place with Brazil to coach those matches in June in a deal that will run through to the 2026 World Cup.
Sources at the Brazil Football Federation (CBF), speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told The Athletic that an announcement confirming Ancelotti’s arrival will come this month.
Madrid must clarify their managerial situation ahead of their involvement in the newly-expanded Club World Cup, which commences on June 14.
Alonso was appointed at Leverkusen in October 2022 with the club second-from-bottom in the Bundesliga, but within 18 months he guided the club to their first ever league title in an unbeaten domestic campaign with the club also winning the DFB-Pokal, and losing the Europa League final to Atalanta.
(Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
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