Xabi Alonso announced that he was leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season.
Alonso, who guided the club to his very first Bundesliga title in 2023-24 and won the German double in an undefeated national campaign, confirmed his decision before the Sunday match at Borussia Dortmund.
It will be the last 43 -year -old match in Bayarena de Leverkusen, offering her the opportunity to say goodbye to club fans.
“This week, the club and I agreed that it will be my last two games as a Leverkusen coach,” said Alonso at his press conference on Friday.
“It’s a good time to announce it because we have always had this good communication with the club. We have to take advantage of this moment with mixed emotions, it’s emotional! I spoke to players and staff, it was not easy.
“We had a great connection and it was the key. They believed in me and they followed me. I want to have a good goodbye this weekend.
“It was a long time, significant and successful here in this club. I want to put respect (they showed me) until the very last day. ”
Alonso led Leverkusen to a first title of Bundesliga (René Nijhuis / MB Media / Getty Images)
Alonso held a meeting with the CEO of Leverkusen, Fernando Carro and the sports director Simon Rolfes this week in which he confirmed his decision to leave the side of the Bundesliga.
His last match in charge will be absent from Massez on May 17, the announcement that occurred after Bayern Munich won the League title before Leverkusen, second.
Asked about his future after Leverkusen, Alonso replied: “No, not the time for this.”
The former central midfielder of Madrid, which won the Liga and the Champions League during its charm in the Spanish capital, had been identified as the first choice of the club to replace Ancelotti in the canoe this summer.
Athletics reported talks between people representing Alonso and Madrid took place this season with the possibility that the former Spanish international take care of the Bernabeu this summer.
Ancelotti is expected to leave his job as a Madrid head coach at the end of the current Liga campaign after having concluded an agreement on his departure, with the Brazil national team his most likely destination.
Brazil had identified the 65-year-old Italian as his first choice to take the nation to the 2026 World Cup and wanted to appoint a new head coach before the international break in June.
An agreement is in place with Brazil to train these games in June in an agreement that will present itself at the 2026 World Cup.
Sources at the Brazil Football Federation (CBF), speaking under the guise of anonymity to protect relations, told Athletics that an announcement confirming his next coach will be at the end of next week.
Madrid must clarify their management situation before their involvement in the newly expanded club World Cup, which begins on June 14.
Alonso was appointed to Leverkusen in October 2022 with the club second thoroughly in the Bundesliga, but in 18 months, he guided the club to his very first league title in an undefeated domestic campaign with the club also won the DFB-Pokal and losing the final of the Europa League against Atalanta.
Additional report by Mario Cortegana.
(Top Photo: Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)
