Xabi Alonso to respond to next season's coaching plans

Amid rumours that Xabi Alonso could take over as Real Madrid manager, the Bayer Leverkusen head coach is set to make a public statement on his future.

According to AS, Alonso will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon to personally announce his whereabouts for next season. For the first time, Alonso will respond positively to rumors about his coaching plans for next season. Multiple sources indicate that he will confirm that he will continue to be the head coach of Leverkusen in the 2025-26 season.

Although Real Madrid coach Ancelotti's contract does not expire until 2026, if he fails to lead the team to win La Liga or the Champions League this season, the old coach's position may be lost. Real Madrid has chosen to wait and see whether Alonso will continue to coach after the season results are clear. Alonso is widely regarded as the most promising candidate to take over. It is reported that Real Madrid has had preliminary communication with his agent team. However, Leverkusen is eager to clarify the coach's stay as soon as possible so as to prepare for next season as soon as possible.

If Alonso chooses to leave Leverkusen this summer, he may face the uncertain situation of "waiting for Ancelotti to be sacked"; on the contrary, if he decides to stay and Real Madrid changes its head coach this summer, the Galacticos may turn to other targets, and Alonso's future will be passively restricted by the performance and timing of the new coach.

From a timing perspective, this is also not the best time for Alonso to coach Real Madrid. Even if Real Madrid invites him to take over, his appointment may be postponed to mid-July because of the need to compete in the expanded Club World Cup in the new season.

Leverkusen has been eliminated by Bayern in this season's Champions League, but the team still has hope of winning the Bundesliga and German Cup double. The team's next opponent is Bochum this Friday, and the German Cup semi-final will be against Bielefeld next Tuesday. Leverkusen is currently ranked second in the Bundesliga standings, 6 points behind the leader Bayern. There are only 8 rounds left in the league, and the championship situation is still stalemate.