Alonso to leave Bayer Leverkusen at end of season

Head coach Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season, amid reports he will succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

Alonso, 43, will replace Ancelotti at Madrid, says BBC Sport columnist and Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, although it is unclear when that announcement will take place.

Last year former Liverpool and Spain midfielder Alonso led Leverkusen to the double of a Bundesliga title - without losing a game - and the German Cup in his first full season as a senior club manager.

"This week the club and I have agreed that these two games are going to be my last as Bayer Leverkusen coach," Alonso said on Friday.

"It is not a moment to talk too much about the future because we want to have a proper farewell on Sunday here for some players, for myself, and it is the right moment to announce it.

"We have to enjoy this moment with mixed emotions. It is emotional, I spoke this morning with the players, the staff, so many people who have helped me during an unbelievable, fantastic three years.

"Now is a moment to share it with the fans in this stadium where I have lived great emotions and become what I am right now."

Leverkusen, who relinquished their Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich last weekend, host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday before concluding the season at Mainz on 17 May.

Former Spain international Alonso played for Real between 2009 and 2014 following a five-year spell at Liverpool, before ending his playing career after three years at Bayern Munich in 2017.

Alonso was linked with Real, Liverpool and Bayern last year, but said in March 2024 that he wanted to stay at Leverkusen following talks with the club's hierarchy.

Speaking last month, with Leverkusen still battling for the Bundesliga title, Alonso said it was "not a good time" to discuss his future amid ongoing links with Real.

Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro insisted in April that Alonso was "comfortable" at the club and already planning for next season.

BBC Sport reported last month that Real Madrid boss Ancelotti is set for further talks about taking over as Brazil coach before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.

Ancelotti took charge of Real for a second spell in 2021 and has won the Champions League three times with the club.

But the 65-year-old Italian's side failed to reach the Champions League semi-finals for only the third time in 12 seasons this campaign, while they trail Barcelona by four points with four league games remaining before Sunday's crucial El Clasico meeting.

Back to where it began? Alonso's managerial progress so far

Alonso took up his first coaching role with Real Madrid's Under-14 side in 2018.

After impressing in three years in charge of Real Sociedad's B team, he took up his first managerial role in first-team football at Bayer Leverkusen in October 2022.

He lifted the club from second from bottom to a sixth-placed finish in the 2022-23 Bundesliga, before achieving the club's first German title and becoming the first side to win the competition with an unbeaten record.

A Europa League final defeat by Atalanta represented their only defeat in 53 games in all competitions, before they completed a domestic double in the German Cup.

Despite losing just twice in the Bundesliga this season, Leverkusen's title defence came to an end on Sunday with their draw at Freiburg.

Alonso's side were knocked out of this season's Champions league in the last 16 by Bayer Munich, while they suffered a shock loss to third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup semi-finals.