Bayer Leverkusen chief rubbishes reports linking Xabi Alonso with the Real Madrid job, claiming the Spaniard is ‘fully focused’ after extending his deal with high-flying Bundesliga side

• Xabi Alonso has been linked with replacing Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid
• Bayer Leverkusen rubbished reports claiming Alonso is ‘fully focused’ at the club
• Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here

Bayer Leverkusen chief Simon Rolfes has rubbished reports linking Xabi Alonso with the Real Madrid job next season.

Liverpool legend Alonso has been a first-team manager for less than a year after taking over Bayer Leverkusen last October, after managing Real Sociedad’s B team for three years before.

A two-time European champion with Spain, Alonso spent six seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu as a player, winning LaLiga in 2012 and then the Champions League two years later during Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell at the club.

And now after a brilliant start to the season with Leverkusen, which has seen them take 16 points from 18 in the Bundesliga, they are sitting pretty at the top of the table and the 41-year-old is already being tipped to replace his old mentor Ancelotti.

However, Rolfes insists they are not worried about Alonso jumping ship just yet, given that he signed a new deal recently which keeps him at the club until 2026. 

Xabi Alonso (left) has been tipped to replace Carlo Ancelotti (right) in charge of Real Madrid next season

However, Bayer Leverkusen chief Simon Rolfes rubbished reports linking Alonso with Real

‘We got his commitment a few weeks ago, when he extended his contract’, he told Mundo Deportivo. ‘Xabi doesn’t have to say anything. He has extended his contract. He’s fully focused here.’

In October last year, Alonso replaced Gerardo Seoane at Leverkusen with the team second from bottom after eight Bundesliga games.

The Spaniard, who spent five seasons at Anfield, made an immediate impact, guiding Leverkusen to sixth in the Bundesliga and to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Leverkusen have only dropped two points this season after they drew 2-2 with title rivals Bayern Munich last month. 

When asked about the reports linking him with a return to Real as manager, Alonso remained coy but didn’t completely shut down talk of a potential reunion.

‘It’s too early to talk about this, we’re in September, so it’s not an issue to discuss,’ he said. ‘Both the players and I know how football works, it’s not a problem for anyone, and we have not talked about it.’ 

Alonso attracted interest from Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou, but he committed to Leverkusen and in August signed a three-year extension running to the end of the 2025-26 season.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, is expected to step down when his contract runs out at the end of the season.

In July, Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues said Ancelotti would lead the national team at next year’s Copa America.

Fernando Diniz signed a one-year deal as interim manager while he simultaneously coaches Fluminense.

Alonso (right) played under Ancelotti (left) for Real Madrid and at Bayern Munich (pictured)

Now the Spaniard is flying in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen as a first-team manager

‘Philosophy, not constantly changing it,’ Rodrigues said in July. ‘He [Diniz] always had the same method … It’s a coach whose ideas are similar to the coach who’ll take charge in the Copa America, Ancelotti.

‘I think they have almost the same tactics and philosophy.’

The former Chelsea boss won LaLiga in 2022 and lifted his second Champions League trophy with the club in the same season along with the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Last season Real won the Spanish Cup, but finished 10 points behind champions Barcelona in LaLiga and were trounced 5-1 on aggregate by Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final.

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