End in Leverkusen: Xabi Alonso about to move to Real Madrid

It's not official yet, but there's little doubt that Xabi Alonso will leave the Bundesliga and move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Real Madrid. After the "Royals" were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by Arsenal and lost in the Spanish Cup final to arch-rivals FC Barcelona, ​​who will likely also win the league title under former national coach Hansi Flick , Carlo Ancelotti's days as Real Madrid coach are numbered. The Italian will leave Madrid after the season—and may soon work as national coach in Saudi Arabia .

Alonso is considered the preferred candidate of the powerful Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez. Although he still has a contract with Leverkusen until 2026, he can leave early if one of his three former clubs – Liverpool FC, Bayern Munich , or Real Madrid – contacts him and wants to hire him as coach. A possible transfer fee for Alonso is being discussed at between 15 and 20 million euros.

Alonso's departure from the Werkself club after two and a half years is considered a done deal. The 43-year-old himself has so far avoided making a clear commitment to his current employer. "I don't know what will happen," he said last week. A year ago, when he was being courted by Liverpool and FC Bayern, he put an early end to all speculation and decided to stay at Leverkusen for another season .

Double victory after 31 years without a title

For Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the 2024 double winners, this marks the end of a two-and-a-half-year success story. Alonso joined the Werkself club in October 2022 , which was only 17th in the Bundesliga table after a poor start to the season. The Spaniard, who had never previously held a head coaching position at a professional club, led the team to the Europa League in his first year and subsequently achieved something unprecedented in German football.

Without a single defeat, Bayer Leverkusen became German champions for the first time in 2024 and also secured victory in the DFB Cup . In the Europa League, Bayer 04 only lost in the final to Atalanta Bergamo . Prior to that, the club had gone 31 years without winning a title. With the DFB Cup victory in 1993 and the UEFA Cup success in 1988, there had only been two other occasions to celebrate.

Alonso instilled in his players a winning mentality that Leverkusen's players had always lacked in crucial moments and games. The ability to regularly turn close games around with late goals earned the team the nickname "Laterkusen."

Bitter defeats, missed opportunities

In the year following their great success, however, Alonso's team often lacked this quality. Although Bayer 04 achieved the second-best result in their club's history in the 2024/2025 season, they suffered too many weak performances and avoidable point losses due to draws. In the end, FC Bayern Munich will likely win the championship comfortably, with Leverkusen a distant second – albeit with a clear lead over third place.

Leverkusen also lost to Bayern in the Champions League round of 16. The unnecessary defeat in the DFB Cup semifinal against third-division side Arminia Bielefeld was particularly bitter for Alonso and his team.

After this and other poor performances, Alonso, who was considered untouchable in the championship-winning year, repeatedly faced criticism of his tactics. "The tactics were perhaps not the best," he admitted after the surprise cup exit, and even weeks later, he admitted: "I still feel the pain because we missed a huge opportunity to go to Berlin and play in another final."

How does Florian Wirtz decide?

Alonso's departure will also have personnel consequences for the team: Bayer superstar Florian Wirtz no longer has a strong argument for staying at Leverkusen. The attacking player has been linked with Manchester City, but could also follow Alonso to Real Madrid. FC Bayern Munich is also keen to sign the 21-year-old. A transfer fee of between 120 and 130 million euros would likely be required.

Xabi Alonso's move, however, opens up new prospects for players who were no longer happy with their playing time under the Spaniard and were considering a change of club. These include the two strikers Patrik Schick and Victor Boniface, as well as international player Robert Andrich and former international Jonas Hofmann.

Will Xavi succeed Xabi or will ten Hag come?

And of course, in addition to these personnel issues, the factory club must first clarify who will take Alonso's place on the coaching bench. Preparations for a smooth transition are already underway in the background, and the trail also leads to Spain, among other places.

In addition to Dutchman Erik ten Hag, the former Manchester United coach, Imanol Alguacil, Xavi Hernandez, and Cesc Fabregas are considered favorites. Alguacil, 53, is currently the coach of Alonso's hometown club, Real Sociedad, but has already announced his intention to leave his post at the end of the season. Xavi, who won World Cups and European Championships with Spain alongside Alonso, most recently coached FC Barcelona (2021-2024), winning one league title and two cups with the Catalans. Fabregas has been head coach of newly promoted Como 1907 in Serie A since last summer.

Whether any of the three will actually come to Leverkusen remains to be seen. However, connections to Spain are very good thanks to Leverkusen's Spanish managing director, Fernando Carro – and the Werkself have already had excellent experiences with a Spanish coach who had never previously coached a Bundesliga club.