Real Madrid legend in constant contact with club, hailed as favorite to succeed Carlo Ancelotti - Reports
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso is reportedly in constant contact with Real Madrid over a potential managerial job in the near future.
According to Relevo (h/t @theMadridZone on Twitter), Alonso is considered the favorite to succeed current boss Carlo Ancelotti. He registered six goals and 31 assists in 236 games in his five seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Alonso left Real Madrid in 2014 to join Bayern Munich, where he retired three years later. He managed Los Merengues' youth team in the 2018-19 season before being appointed Real Sociedad B's head coach for the following campaign.
The Spaniard is now serving as Leverkusen manager with his contract expiring in 2024. The 41-year-old won every major trophy as a player but is yet to win silverware as a manager. He led the German club to a sixth-placed finish in the Bundesliga last season.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, is reportedly expected to see out his contract with Los Blancos and become Brazil's manager right before the 2024 Copa America. Fernando Diniz is now serving as the South American nation's caretaker manager.
Alongside Alonso, club legend Raul Gonzalez has also been linked with the job at the Bernabeu. He's serving as Real Madrid Castilla's head coach.
Real Madrid icon details reason for taking Leverkusen job
Xabi Alonso became Bayer Leverkusen's manager in October last year. That was the first time he was offered the role of a club's senior head coach.
Alonso spent the last three seasons of his career at Bayern, where he played under Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola — two of the finest coaches in world football.
In an interview with Bayern Munich's media team in March, before his first game against Bayern as a manager, Alonso explained why he took the job of managing a Bundesliga club:
"It’s to do with my experience as a player in the Bundesliga and my last years I spent at Bayern. That time had a big influence on me. I knew this would be a good step in my coaching career, and I’m very happy in Leverkusen."
Leverkusen went on to record a famous 2-1 Bundesliga win against the Bavarian giants at BayArena.