Real Madrid considering move for club legend Xabi Alonso, as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor

Real Madrid will lose their current manager Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the current season, with the legendary Italian manager taking on the Brazilian national team job from the 2024 season onwards. Madrid will have the task of replacing the man who won them a continental double in the 2021/22 season but have reportedly got their eyes set on a target for next season already.

The Madrid hierarchy are reportedly considering a move for former player Xabi Alonso, as per German outlet BILD. Alonso spent 5 seasons with the team from the Spanish capital, and was a regular in their midfield before finishing his career at Bayern Munich.

Alonso has recently gotten into the sphere of European coaching, and has been impressive in his spell in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his coaching career with his boyhood club Real Sociedad’s B team, before being appointed manager at a Leverkusen club struggling and sitting in the relegation spots in the Bundesliga.

The 2010 World Cup winner would improve the team significantly and have an immediate impact, taking them all the way into the Europa League positions, with Leverkusen finishing in 6th. He also enjoyed European success, taking the team to the semifinals of the Conference League, where they were unlucky to lose a tight contest to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Alonso was linked with the vacant Tottenham Hotspur job earlier this summer, but has committed to staying on with Leverkusen in the 23/24 Bundesliga season. However, a return to his former employers in Spain could be imminent, with Real seeking a replacement for Ancelotti.

Xabi Alonso was part of the ‘La Decima’ winning squad in 2014 for Madrid, and has been appreciated for his tactical awareness by many of his former coaches, including Mourinho. As a player who spent time at Real and understands the club, he could be a frontrunner for the position as Los Blancos begin transitioning towards a very different-looking future.

Madrid likely won’t be the only club monitoring Alonso. The Spanish midfielder also spent 5 years at Liverpool, winning the Champions League at the English club as well. Liverpool extended current manager Jurgen Klopp’s contract to 2026, but might see Alonso as a good fit for their club as well.

Alonso begins his first preseason in Germany with a visit to his hometown of San Sebastian, where Real Sociedad will host Bayer Leverkusen. Ancelotti will begin his final preseason at Real with a match against a former club as well, taking on AC Milan at the Rose Bowl in California.