Xabi Alonso reportedly has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Bayer Leverkusen which boosts Liverpool’s chances of landing him as Jürgen Klopp’s replacement.
Klopp announced in January he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Attention has quickly turned to finding his replacement, with former Reds midfielder Alonso among the contenders.
Sky Germany reported earlier this week that Alonso has a $16.29m (€15m/£12.82m) release clause in his contract with his current club that will kick in in 2025. They also claimed initial talks had been held with Bayern Munich, who are also reported to be interested in Alonso to replace Thomas Tuchel.
However, those claims over Alonso’s release clause are disputed by Leverkusen. And BILD reports that Alonso has a special agreement with those at his current club that they won’t put obstacles in his way if Bayern, Liverpool or Real Madrid want to appoint him and he wants to leave.
Instead of having a release clause, Leverkusen plans to demand a transfer fee for Alonso. However, they would likely want more money from Bayern than Liverpool, given they are direct rivals in the Bundesliga.
BILD claims that suggestions of initial talks with Bayern are wide of the mark, with the club waiting for a signal from Alonso as to whether he is open to talks which has not yet been received. The same report states Liverpool have also not held any talks over Alonso.
However, it would appear the ball is in Alonso’s court. If he decides he wants to replace Klopp at Anfield, and he is viewed as the club’s choice as his successor, then Leverkusen has reportedly given him his word they will not stand in his way.
Back in November, Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro strongly hinted that was the case when he publicly denied there is a release clause in Alonso’s contract. He told talkSPORT: “No but you don’t need a clause. We have a very, very good relationship with Xabi and he knows that we are a serious club.
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to force someone to stay if he doesn’t want to stay. We want him to feel so happy and so good with us that he really only wants to stay and this is our objective.
“No nothing on paper but sometimes agreements that are not on paper are agreements as well and we know that if he needs to do a move in the future we’ll be able to talk with each other. I hope we will not need to do this because he will stay and be happy in Leverkusen.”
Alonso addressed speculation linking him with Liverpool when Klopp’s departure was announced. He said: “Speculation is normal, my focus is here on Bayer Leverkusen. I am very happy at Leverkusen with my players at the moment.
“[It was a] big surprise in Liverpool, of course — for what Jurgen did in Liverpool I have great respect and admiration. I am really happy here. I am enjoying my work here. I am feeling each day and each game is a challenge.
“I am on a beautiful journey in Leverkusen. The next one, I don’t know. I am thinking about where I am right now. I am in a great place and I am enjoying. Saturday is what really matters. I don’t really care what is going to happen in the future right now.”
When asked last month about the links to Bayern, he added: “Right now I am Bayer Leverkusen coach and that’s certain. Regarding the future, I have nothing new to say. That’s only hypothetical. Again — I have nothing new to say.”
