‘The place for me’: Xabi Alonso confirms he will remain with Bayer Leverkusen

According to Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen is the ideal place for him to further his career as a manager. This puts to rest any rumors that he would be returning to either of his previous teams, Liverpool or Bayern Munich.

Leverkusen's player Alonso is currently a hot topic in Europe's football community as various top clubs reportedly have their sights on him. This is all thanks to his impressive leadership in guiding his team through an undefeated season while also striving for three trophies. Despite recent rumors that he may join Liverpool, Alonso put those to rest during a press conference leading up to Leverkusen's upcoming match against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. He stated that he remains loyal to the club that hired him back in October 2022, as he is under contract with Leverkusen until 2026.

Alonso recently conveyed his intention of remaining as Bayer Leverkusen's coach to the officials during a meeting held last week.

I took advantage of the break to ponder and come to a decision about my future, which had been a topic of discussion for quite some time now. It dawned on me that this is the ideal place to grow as a budding coach. I am not done with my work at Bayer as yet. My goal is to assist the club and players to improve their skills. The management team is phenomenal, and I absolutely love everything about my role here.

He said, "I want to be transparent about this decision. I've spent a lot of time thinking it over because it's important to make a thoughtful choice. When I finally made up my mind, I felt it was important to let everyone know. It's a way of showing respect. I informed the team during a meeting this morning, and we're continuing to prepare for the game as usual."

"You all engaged in a lot of conjecture - even dating back to last May! It's a common occurrence in the industry and it hasn't caused me any anxiety. It was imperative that the speculation didn't have any negative impact on the team and fortunately, our team's mindset remained positive throughout. Now, everything is crystal clear."

Alonso signed up with Leverkusen when the team was battling a difficult situation and were in danger of being relegated. However, he managed to bring about a positive change and led them to finish sixth place which enabled them to participate in the Europa League. Now, in the present season, under his guidance, Leverkusen has emerged as the top team in the Bundesliga with a 10-point lead over the current champions Bayern, with eight games left to play. Moreover, they have not faced a single defeat in 38 matches across all competitions, achieving a new German record.

When questioned about Alonso's choice, Klopp stated that he could only give his perspective on how he himself had dealt with a similar situation when he was a young manager, and he did not regret his decision. Klopp acknowledged the impressive job Alonso was doing at Leverkusen and believed they had a good team that would likely stay together, making it understandable that Alonso would want to continue working with them. Klopp did not comment on other aspects of the situation and concluded his response.