Xabi Alonso says he will remain in his role as Bayer Leverkusen manager next season as he believes the club is the “right place” to be as a young coach.
The Spaniard had been heavily linked with the manager’s job at Liverpool since Jurgen Klopp said he would stand down at the end of the season.
“I am convinced it is the right decision; I am happy,” said Alonso.
Leverkusen are on the brink of winning their first Bundesliga title and are unbeaten in all competitions this season.
Alonso, 42, a former midfielder for Liverpool, was also considered a potential successor at Bayern Munich, where manager Thomas Tuchel will also depart at the end of the season.
Alonso said he had informed Leverkusen’s directors of his decision to stay at the club last week.
“We have had a lot of speculation regarding my future,” he said. “Until now, we have had so many games and been pretty busy and focused, and I wanted to reflect during the international break and take a decision.
“The players gave me so many reasons to keep believing in the team—for their commitment, for their desire, for their hunger to have a great season. My job is not over here.”
Signed from Real Sociedad in 2004, Alonso went on to make 210 appearances for Liverpool and won the Champions League with the club in 2005.
He left in 2009 to join Real Madrid, another team he has recently been linked with, and moved to Bayern five years later before retiring as a player in 2017.
Asked about interest from two of his former clubs, Alonso said, “It wouldn’t be correct of me to talk about other clubs when they are in this situation. For sure, there are clubs to which I have a strong link, as I played there. So I respect them.
“I have the conviction that I am in the right place at Bayer Leverkusen, and I want to keep growing with the club and with the players.
“We have speculated enough. I want to enjoy wherever I am, and I am enjoying it at Leverkusen.”
Alonso moved into coaching with Real Madrid’s Under-14 side in 2018 and followed that with three years in charge of Real Sociedad’s B team.
In October 2022, Leverkusen gave him his first managerial role in first-team football, and, having taken over with the club second from bottom in the Bundesliga, Alonso led them to a sixth-place finish.
In his first full term in charge this season, Leverkusen are 10 points clear of champions Bayern with eight games remaining.
They are also in the semi-finals of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
