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Mark Ogden reacts to the announcement of Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool at the end of the season (3:08)
Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso says he is in contention for the German team’s name in the Bundesliga after being linked to Liverpool’s job following Jurgen Klopp’s surprise decision to step down as manager on Friday.
However, the 42-year-old refused to rule out the possibility of taking over at Liverpool one day, telling a news conference that “what will happen [in the future] I don’t know.”
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Alonso is seen as the frontrunner to replace Klopp due to the five years he spent at Anfield as a player between 2004 and 2009, a spell which saw him win the FA Cup and Champions League.
Asked via ESPN’s Archie Rhind-Tutt if he would accept the Liverpool role at the end of his contract at Leverkusen, Alonso replied: “Well, first of all, yes, [Klopp’s decision to retire at the end of the season] was a surprise.
“But I also have immense respect for Jurgen, immense admiration before coming to Liverpool and over the course of this year it’s been even greater and what he’s achieved and the way he’s done it has grown.
“And at the moment I’m satisfied here. I feel like every day is a challenge. Every game is a challenge and we’re on an intense and enchanting adventure here in Leverkusen and I’m looking to do the best I can to help my players be in a position to face what’s coming and that’s my goal. What’s going to happen [in the future], I don’t know. “
Alonso signed a new contract at Leverkusen this summer that will expire at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
“To be honest, I’m in that moment of thinking about the next step, I’m thinking about where I am right now,” Alonso said.
“And I think that I am in a great place and I am enjoying and I think it’s the right place. So that’s all I can say… My place is what’s going to [happen] on Saturday to be honest because that’s what really matters and I’m going to be happy when we are playing well and we deserve to win. And what’s going to happen in the future, I don’t know and I don’t really care at the moment.”
Earlier on Friday, Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season. The German coach said he is “running out of energy” and questioned his ability to ever succeed.
Alonso is considered one of the most important midfielders of his generation and won 17 top prizes during his tenure at Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the Spanish national team.
Alonso joined Liverpool in 2004 and won the Champions League in his first season. He scored in the infamous final in Istanbul where Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties and lift their fifth European Cup.
The 2010 World Cup winner, who had formed an impressive partnership with Steven Gerrard in Liverpool’s central midfield, left Merseyside to join Real Madrid in a £30m ($38. 2m) deal. in August 2009.
After taking charge of Real Madrid’s Under-14s and Real Sociedad B, Alonso was appointed Leverkusen’s head coach in October 2022 and is inspiring the team in a race for an unlikely name in his first full season in charge.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season and have opened a four-point gap over second-placed Bayern Munich.