The statement failed to materialize. At the press conference one day before the Bochum game, Xabi Alonso left his own future open. Unlike a year ago, Bayer 04 remains in the dark about a key position.
The mountain labored and gave birth – nothing. Anyone who had expected Xabi Alonso to make a statement at the end of the international break and a day before the Bundesliga home game against VfL Bochum, committing himself to Bayer 04 for the coming season, was disappointed. “There was nothing to decide,” said the Leverkusen coach when asked about his future.
Unlike last year, when the Spaniard had declared at the end of the international break that his time with Bayer 04 was not yet over and that he would also be working for the factory club in the next season, the double winner now remains in the dark about a key position. Xabi Alonso’s contract in Leverkusen runs until the summer of 2026, after he extended the contract, which was originally dated until the summer of 2024, by two years in August 2023.
A year ago, Xabi Alonso had spoken plainly, also out of respect for Bayer Leverkusen, as he said at the time. This time, there were no clear words. Although before the international break, he had stated that he would have time to think about his future during these 14 days. However, the 43-year-old did not provide any truly enlightening explanation on Thursday as to why, unlike a year ago, he is not yet able to make his decision to stay in Leverkusen at the end of the international break in March.
“The situation is different. Back then, there was something to decide. This time, there is nothing. That’s the big difference,” said the Basque. But that means no more and no less than that Xabi Alonso had received inquiries or even offers a year ago, when Liverpool and Bayern Munich were urgently looking for a coach for the upcoming season. These specific interested parties do not currently exist.
So now everything remains in limbo. And so, at the latest with every sporting setback for Real Madrid, the speculation will flare up again as to whether Xabi Alonso will not move to Madrid after all in the summer to succeed Real coach Carlo Ancelotti. Should the Italian lose sight of the titles with the royals in La Liga and the Champions League, he is unlikely to fulfill his contract in Madrid, which runs until 2026.
Then Xabi Alonso’s wish cannot come true either. “I’m focusing on this season. That’s the most important thing. We are in an important phase. We don’t want to speculate and think about things other than football,” said the coach, although his wait-and-see approach will have exactly the opposite effect. The current state of limbo opens the floodgates to speculation. Exactly a year ago, Xabi Alonso showed how to focus on an ongoing season: with his commitment to Bayer 04, which has not yet materialized.
