Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeness has played down speculation that Xabi Alonso could take over the reins from Thomas Tuchel, admitting a deal is ‘probably impossible’ this summer.
Alonso, 42, has established himself as one of the most sought-after young managers in world football this season, with his rampant Bayer Leverkusen side sitting ten points clear of champions Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Remarkably, Leverkusen remain unbeaten with just eight games remaining of the campaign and Alonso’s success, in only his second year as a top-flight head coach, has made him the primary target for both Bayern and Liverpool.
Bayern are on the hunt for their next manager after Tuchel’s impending departure was confirmed last month, while Liverpool must fill the sizeable shoes left by Jurgen Klopp when the German steps down from his position at the end of the season.
Widespread reports emanating from Germany indicate that Bayern have held informal discussions with Alonso over the prospect of succeeding Tuchel and the Spaniard is believed to favour a move to the Allianz Arena over Merseyside.
However, Hoeness is pessimistic over Bayern’s chances of landing Alonso anytime soon and believes the 2010 World Cup winner may prefer to stay on and continue his project with Leverkusen for the time being.
‘We’ll see if we can do that this year, it will be very difficult, not to say probably impossible,’ Hoeness told BR24Sport.
‘Personally, I, we all, extremely appreciate Xabi Alonso, [but he] is currently in the process of becoming German champions.
‘He would be more inclined to continue because he doesn’t want to, let’s say, leave it behind now.
‘If he had had two or three years more success it would probably be easier to get him out of there.’
Leverkusen have stood firm in the face of incessant rumours surrounding their manager’s future, with the club’s CEO, Fernando Carro, planning for another season with Alonso at the helm.
‘He has a contract until 2026 and we are planning the next season with him at full speed,’ Carro told Spanish publication Marca last week.
‘Nothing makes us think that he will not continue with us.
‘On the coaching level, he is the number one in the world at the moment.’
Alonso, who was a fan favourite at both Bayern and Liverpool during his playing days, reportedly has a €15million (£13m) release clause in his contract at BayArena.
Before taking charge of Leverkusen, the legendary former Spain midfielder steered Real Sociedad’s reserve team to promotion into the Segunda Division in only his second season at the helm.
Asked for an update on his Leverkusen future last month, Alonso told reporters: ‘Right now I’m the coach and that’s certain.
‘Regarding the future, I have nothing new to say. We’ll see. It’s normal that there are questions, but this is not the right moment to talk about that.'
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