Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the Bundesliga season, with the expectation he will take on the imminently vacant seat at Real Madrid.
“We can let you know that this week the club and I, we have agreed that these two games are going to be my last two games as a Bayern Leverkusen coach,” Alonso told a Friday press conference. “We have been talking during this week that is always about the moment and now is the right moment to announce it.”

After leading Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title and a German Cup double last season, the former Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder became one of the game’s hottest properties. Last year, after Jürgen Klopp announced his departure from Anfield, he was bookmakers’ and fans’ favourite to return to Liverpool, only to pledge another year to the club he joined in October 2022.

Now, with Carlo Ancelotti expected to depart the Bernabéu, whatever the outcome of this season’s title race with Barcelona, the Italian linked with becoming Brazil’s first modern-day foreign national team manager, Alonso is expected to return to the club where he won a La Liga title and a Champions League winner’s medal as a player. Reports in Spain suggest a pre-contract agreement has been struck with the 43-year-old.