A Liverpool hero might be about to endure the wrath of the Reds – and it's all because of a managerial merry-go-round.
The future of several of Europe’s best managers could soon be under the microscope after Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti opened up about his Real Madrid future. The Italian returned to the Bernabeu for a second spell in charge of the La Liga giants in 2021 and has gone on to win two La Liga and two Champions League titles to cement his status as one of the best managers of the modern era.
The 65-year-old has previously said that this will likely be his final job in club management, with statements like this always leading to speculation over who will succeed him at the club.
Carlo Ancelotti reaffirms Real Madrid future - so what next for Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso?
One of the favourites to take charge in Madrid when Ancelotti does call it a day is Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, who is seen as one of Europe’s best young managers following his side’s triumphant 2023/24 campaign that saw them win the club’s first-ever Bundesliga without losing a single game.
But Ancelotti’s latest comments regarding his future may have put Alonso’s chances of returning to Madrid, where he spent five years as a player, on hold for now.
"Being with Real Madrid, the best club in the world, feels very special,” Ancelotti said as per Bild. “I would like to stay here with Real for many more years. I don't have an expiration date here. I'll do the job as long as I like.”
Alonso – who FourFourTwo voted as the third-best manager in world football earlier this year - clearly has lofty ambitions as a manager and although his contract with Leverkusen runs until 2026, the Bild report has said that he may look to leave next summer. This comes after another two of his former clubs, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, moved for him this summer, only for the 42-year-old to stay put at Leverkusen and lead their Champions League tilt this year.
Liverpool would go on to hire Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement, while Bayern Munich appointed Vincent Kompany, and with both managers making strong starts at their new clubs, the chances of vacancies opening up there next summer currently appear slim.
Alonso will be linked with any of Europe’s big vacancies as they arise in the coming months and a situation could well arise where one of Liverpool’s biggest rivals moves for the former Anfield favourite.
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Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City contract expires at the end of the current season and many believe this could be his final year in Manchester, not least because of the club’s ongoing case with the Premier League over alleged financial breaches.
In FourFourTwo’s view, there’s a fair bit of connecting the dots here, but Alonso replacing Guardiola at Manchester City is not a completely outlandish proposition. Alonso is a very talented manager and would no doubt be tempted by the prospect of succeeding one of the game’s greatest-ever managers at City and having a go at the Premier League.
A move to Liverpool would have suited the football romantics, but a lot will need to go wrong for the Reds to give up on Slot, especially after he has made such a positive start to life at Anfield.
Could Liverpool hire Xabi Alonso after all?
Arne Slot signed a three-year contract when he joined Liverpool from Feyenoord over the summer. But in football management, contracts are fusty words that mean very little when it comes to form and favour.
There's certainly a school of thought that should things not pan out with Slot at Liverpool, Alonso could be installed in the dugout next summer, with the Dutchman an unfortunate transitional pawn. Is there any reason to believe such, though? No: FourFourTwo thinks not.
It's very early days at Liverpool but the intention from the Reds is for Slot to be at the club as long as Jurgen Klopp was, with all things being well: the Bob Paisley, to the German's Bill Shankly, if you like. We'll see – but Alonso going to Liverpool seems way less likely than City right now to us.
