Xabi Alonso's final Real Madrid decision revealed by Bayer Leverkusen chief | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen are confident that Xabi Alonso won't be leaving the club this summer amid ongoing links with Real Madrid.

Since being appointed by Leverkusen in 2022 for his first senior managerial gig, Alonso has emerged as one of the leading coaches in Europe.

He delivered Leverkusen's first ever Bundesliga title last May with an unbeaten season, as well as winning the DFB Pokal and coming within one game of a perfect treble, having been beaten in the Europa League final by Atalanta – their only defeat in any competition.

Alonso opted to stay with Leverkusen last summer, turning down interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich in the process. But even though his team have slipped back behind Bayern domestically, the Spaniard has remained linked with top jobs.

One of those is Real Madrid, which is coming against the backdrop of shock uncertainty over Carlo Ancelotti. His contract, signed in 2023 at a time when Brazil were very publicly courting him, runs until 2026. But Madrid face an uphill battle to win La Liga this season and the prospect of a new challenge at this stage of his career at least makes it plausible he could move on, although Ancelotti has denied speculation about fresh contact with Brazilian federation this month.

Ancelotti's future at Madrid is not clear / AFP7/GettyImages

If Ancelotti is on the move this summer and it creates an immediate vacancy at the Bernabeu, Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has revealed Alonso won't be filling it.

"No, he's staying, that's it," Rolfes insisted in an interaction with German media.

"He told me that there was nothing. He has a contract with us."

That contract with Leverkusen is good until 2026. So while it likely rules out a move to Madrid this summer, if Ancelotti leaves the Spanish capital when his own deal is up, the saga could begin all over.