Xabi Alonso, wished by Liverpool as their subsequent supervisor, may have been going through them from the Manchester City dugout on Sunday.
When Mikel Arteta give up as Pep Guardiola’s Etihad assistant 4 years in the past to take the Arsenal job, the City boss wished Alonso as his successor. Talks have been held between the Spanish pair about the opportunity of reuniting following Alonso’s profitable taking part in spell below Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
But whereas critically tempted by the provide to exchange Arteta, the ex-Liverpool midfielder ultimately rejected the method. At the time Alonso had simply began his first senior teaching job – on the helm of Real Sociedad B – and determined he owed it to the La Liga membership to remain loyal.
READ MORE: Xabi Alonso will value Liverpool near-world file price if he is Jurgen Klopp’s successor
Learn extra
Sky Sports is bringing you 500 stay soccer video games to observe, as properly entry to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA and extra throughout eight devoted channels. Sky Sports is the solely technique to watch all of the motion this yr.
£22 a month
Sky
Fair to say, the previous Real Madrid playmaker, 42, has had no motive to remorse that sliding-doors second amid his remarkably speedy stand up the managerial ladder. Within two years he was appointed Bayer Leverkusen coach and is now heading in the right direction to guide the unfancied German outfit to a shock Bundesliga title.
That, in flip, has catapulted Alonso into the elite bracket of world-class coaches, with a few of Europe’s largest golf equipment trying to safe his providers. Liverpool view him as the best candidate to imagine the Anfield reins when Jurgen Klopp steps down on the finish of the season.
Do you suppose Alonso will return to Anfield as supervisor? Tell us within the feedback part beneath
(Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa through AP)
(Image: Getty Images)
But whereas they thought they have been in pole place to make the appointment, these ambitions at the moment are below menace from Bayern Munich. The summer season exit of present Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, introduced by the membership final month, is paving the best way for them to method Alonso.
Although he has remained tight-lipped on his future past the marketing campaign, it’s thought staying in Germany for the following stage of his profession is Alonso’s favoured possibility. That information comes as an enormous blow to Liverpool, who host Guardiola’s Treble holders on Sunday, with each aiming to take a agency grip on the summit.