Former Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich center midfielder Xabi Alonso was one of the best players in his role during the 2000s and 2010s, unforgettably proving to be a pillar in the La Decima triumph of 2014 as the regista for Los Blancos.
And as a manager, Alonso pulled off another incredible feat for Bayer Leverkusen, giving Die Werkself their first ever title to abolish the moniker "Neverkusen" once and for all with an unprecedented undefeated season to break up Bayern Munich's hegemony of the Bundesliga. Although he screwed up the Europa League Final against Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta and had a bit of a disappointing follow up season in 2024/25, Alonso entered 2025 as the most in demand manager in the world.
It was Real Madrid who won the sweepstakes. But Alonso only lasted a few months at the club. Granted, the results he got were disappointing, and he should not have come in with such a cavalier attitude that he would change everything about Real Madrid. At the same time, though, Alonso was hurt by a group of players who were not receptive to his ideas and a team that has run into the same issues with Kylian Mbappe that PSG manager Luis Enrique waxed lyrical about.
Xabi Alonso has a clear suitor
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Xabi Alonso is unemployed but in high demand. [According to a report from Aritz Gabilondo of Diario AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/xabi-se-frota-las-manos-f202604-n/), the top European clubs all believe that what happened at Real Madrid was not at all on the former iconic midfielder. They believe the problems went above him at the Valdebebas, and there are top clubs still interested in him this summer.
Liverpool had huge interest in Alonso before but chose Arne Slot. They seemed happy at first after Slot won the Premier League in his first season with Jurgen Klopp's team, but now that his issues that Jamie Carragher once exposed are now laid to bare for all to see, the Reds are less keen on Slot going forward. And Diario AS reports that they are especially interested in making Alonso their new manager.
Real Madrid have found a better personal fit for their players in Alvaro Arbeloa, who connects with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, and Vinicius Junior better than Alonso ever did. And Alonso has to learn to change how he treats star players at big clubs. At the same time, Real Madrid was not the best fit for Alonso, and Alonso may take more kindly to Liverpool, who are correct in their assertion that Madrid is a different environment - and Alonso cannot be blamed for a certain dictator's stranglehold on how the club plays when he is in the lineup.