Leverkusen plan to keep Xabi smiling
BAYER LEVERKUSEN never feared losing their manager Xabi Alonso to Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
And that trio of European giants can forget about appointing the Spanish coach in the foreseeable future – because in the view of the new Bundesliga champions’ sporting director Simon Rolfes, the Leverkusen fairytale is very far from finished yet.
When asked if he was ever concerned that Alonso would have his head turned, former Leverkusen and Germany star Rolfes (below) said: “No. We are always trustful and had open communication about everything.
“My feeling all the time was quite good. There has been interest in him for sure, but my feeling was always that he feels really good here.
“He has a very good connection with the players, the club and the supporters and he feels like, ‘OK, maybe it’s good to stay here longer’.
“We are going to continue together and have more goals to achieve.” Alonso’s contract at the BayArena is understood to contain a release clause of just £13million, that will become active in the summer of 2025.
But for now, Leverkusen are bidding to write even more history following Thursday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham that booked a Europa League semi-final place and – at 44 games in a row unbeaten – set a new benchmark for a club playing in one of Europe’s big five leagues.
Rolfes added: “We want to go to the Europa League Final. We’ve also got the DFB Pokal Final and that’s a big motivation and inspiration for all of us.
“It gives us a lot of energy to go and continue playing these matches and keep winning. To have our unbeaten record continued in Europe is special, it’s an historic moment.”
The vultures are already circling ahead of the summer transfer window.
Marauding wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, 23, is understood to be of interest to Manchester United, Liverpool have scouted defender
Piero Hincapie, 22, and
20-year-old attacking sensation Florian Wirtz has repeatedly been linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid.
But Rolfes insisted: “We always extend the players’ contracts early – so we have a lot of control over those sort of situations.”