Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he will be departing Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season, with reports earlier on Friday claiming Carlo Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid. 

Alonso has long been linked to a return to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season, with pressure mounting on Ancelotti after a comparatively disappointing campaign with Los Blancos.

He earned widespread acclaim for leading Leverkusen to an unbeaten domestic double last season, losing just one game across all fronts – the Europa League final in their final match of the campaign. 

‘This week, the club and I have agreed these will be my last two games as Leverkusen coach,’ Alonso announced on Friday.

‘This is the right moment to announce it because we have always had this good communication with the club.

Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he will be leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season

Carlo Ancelotti’s job has come under increasing fire towards the end of the current campaign

Alonso earned global acclaim for leading Bayer Leverkusen in an unbeaten domestic double-winning campaign for 2023-24

‘We have to enjoy this moment with mixed emotions, it is emotional! I spoke to the players and the staff it was not easy.

‘We’ve had a great connection and that’s been the key. They believed in me and they’ve followed me.

‘I want to have a proper goodbye this weekend.’

As Leverkusen manager, Alonso has taken charge of 138 games, winning 88 of them – just under an impressive 64 per cent win rate. 

As well as being voted the Bundesliga’s coach of the season last year, the Spaniard was also crowned ‘Best Coach of the Year’ by Globe Soccer in 2024.

He left Madrid after winning five trophies and making 236 appearances for the club in five years in 2014, and is one of Spain’s golden generation of exceptional midfielders, lifting two European Championships and a World Cup for La Roja, playing 114 times.

Ancelotti’s position at the Bernabeu has come under immense scrutiny after going out in the Champions League quarter-finals, losing the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona, and now seeming destined for a runners-up medal in the league to the Catalan side.

Ancelotti was linked with the vacant Brazil job but has since reportedly turned down the offer to lead them into the 2026 World Cup.

Alonso won five trophies in as many years while with the Spanish giants, playing 236 matches

Alonso had been linked with the Liverpool job last season before Arne Slot’s appointment

Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez is thought to be disappointed at being overlooked once more

The former captain led the side during their iconic Galacticos era in the early 21st century

Now though he is set to be replaced with the man long tipped to be his successor, though there is another Real Madrid legend who is likely set to be left disappointed once again. 

Former captain Raul has spent seven years in the youth academies, including the last six with the U21s Castilla team, which has long been the finishing school for future Real Madrid senior bosses. 

Zinedine Zidane for example was molded there before going on to win three Champions Leagues with the Spanish giants. 

According to Marca, the Spanish legend is not being considered a likely contender to take charge of the club for the Club World Cup, should Ancelotti part before the start of the tournament in June.  

The Spanish outlet adds that taking the reins at the Bernabeu has long been Raul’s ‘greatest desire’. 

Raul is one of the club’s greatest ever players. His 741 appearances are a club record, and his 323 goals put him third on the all-time list, behind only Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

He is also ninth on the all-time assists board with 111, and was their captain during the iconic Galacticos era, alongside Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham and Roberto Carlos.

However, rather than look to the Castilla boss in his hunt for an Ancelotti replacement, Florentino Perez appears to have cast his net further afield, with Alonso the apparent choice to start the new project in the Spanish capital.