MADRID: Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said Monday the club had a 50-50 chance of holding onto manager Xabi Alonso amid rumored links between the coach and Real Madrid.
Carro also revealed the club had a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Alonso, allowing him to leave to coach one of the clubs he played for as a player for a fee.
Alonso, who played for Real and last year took Leverkusen to an unbeaten league and cup double, has been linked with the top job at the Bernabeu, with current coach Carlo Ancelotti rumored to be headed for the exit.
Speaking ahead of the Laureus Sports Awards, where the club is nominated for breakthrough of the year after their debut Bundesliga win last season, Carro told reporters that “my gut feeling is that it’s 50-50” Alonso would stay.
“Xabi has no exit clause, but we have a gentleman’s agreement. If a team he has played for comes, we would sit down and discuss it and we wouldn’t stand in his way,” he said.
Carro said the club “needs clarity” and “the decision needs to be in the next three or four weeks. We cannot wait until the end of the season.”
“We are not naive, the position of the coach is very important for a club and it is true that we are preparing for next season with him.
“We have worked with him every day; he is fully committed to this preparation.”
After winning the title last season, Leverkusen have fallen back slightly and sit eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich with four games remaining.
Leverkusen were eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern and were knocked out in the semifinals of the German Cup by third-division Arminia Bielefeld
Despite the drop off, the club is still on track for its second best points total.
Carro also said he believed star midfielder Florian Wirtz, 21, “has a contract until 2027 and I believe he will play for us next year.”
Chances of Alonso staying in Leverkusen ‘50-50’, says CEO
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Chances of Alonso staying in Leverkusen ‘50-50’, says CEO
- Carro told reporters that “my gut feeling is that it’s 50-50” Alonso would stay
- “If a team he has played for comes, we would sit down and discuss it and we wouldn’t stand in his way”
Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title
- Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup title on Saturday, playing a leading role in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Florida.
Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami took the lead after an early Edier Ocampo own goal but were left reeling by Ali Ahmed’s second half-equalizer for Vancouver.
But Messi then laid on an assist for Argentina international team-mate Rodrigo De Paul to put Miami 2-1 up before supplying the pass for Tadeo Allende’s injury time goal that sealed victory.
Miami’s first Major League Soccer crown provided glittering vindication for co-owner David Beckham, the former England and Manchester United star who had long dreamed of bringing success to Miami.
“There was a lot of sleepless nights, but I always believed,” Beckham said afterwards. “I always believed in bringing the team here, and when I found the right partners I knew anything was possible.
“We always promised our fans that we would bring success, and bring the best players, and today we’ve achieved that.”
Vancouver — spearheaded by German legend Thomas Mueller — had looked the likelier victor after recovering from Ocampo’s eighth minute own goal to level through Ali Ahmed in the 60th minute.
The Whitecaps almost took the lead moments after the equalizer, with Emmanuel Sabbi’s shot crashing off both posts in the 62nd minute as Miami escaped.
But with the Whitecaps in complete control, the Canadians were stunned when Miami regained the lead after a blunder by midfielder Andres Cubas.
Cubas took too long in possession and was robbed by Messi, who skipped clear before releasing De Paul to provide the clinical finish.
Vancouver never recovered from that hammer blow and Miami started the party in injury time when Messi played in Allende for the third to make it 3-1.
The win marks the crowning achievement of Inter Miami since the club — which entered the league as an expansion club in 2020 — successfully lured Messi to Miami in 2023.
Saturday’s victory also marked the end of an era for two key figures in Miami’s rise to the top of Major League Soccer, with former Spanish internationals Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets heading into retirement.
