Xabi Alonso is out of work for barely a heartbeat, yet already stands at the centre of the Premier League’s next great power struggle.
The former Real Madrid coach, dismissed in January after a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, is being lined up for a swift return to the touchline in England next season. According to British outlet The Sun, both Liverpool and Manchester City have placed Alonso at the top of their lists as they plan for potentially seismic changes in their dugouts.
This is the same Alonso who only months ago looked set for a long stay at the Santiago Bernabéu. His stock had never been higher. With Bayer Leverkusen, he delivered one of the standout campaigns in recent European memory: an unbeaten Bundesliga title in 2023–24, wrapped in style, and capped by lifting the German Cup. That double, and the manner in which he transformed Leverkusen, pushed him into the elite bracket of young managers.
Real Madrid, it seemed, had found their next long-term strategist. Instead, his tenure in Spain lasted less than half a season. One defeat to Barcelona in a showpiece final, pressure intensifying around the club, and the project ended abruptly.
Now the Premier League wants to pick up the pieces.
At Liverpool, Alonso is more than just a name on a shortlist. He is a memory, a symbol, a Champions League winner from that famous 2005 night in Istanbul. The midfielder who helped script one of the club’s greatest comebacks is being talked about as the ideal replacement should Arne Slot’s reign be cut short.
Slot, 47, is under mounting scrutiny. A bruising 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend has sharpened the focus on his position, coming on top of a dip in league form. The mood around Anfield has shifted. Questions have followed. When that happens at a club of Liverpool’s size, succession plans are never far behind.
Alonso fits the bill: a modern tactician with a deep emotional connection to the fanbase and a proven track record of building a winning machine.
But Liverpool are not alone.
Across the divide, Manchester City are quietly preparing for life after Pep Guardiola, a scenario that once felt distant but now looms larger with each passing week. The same report suggests Alonso is being considered as a leading candidate to succeed Guardiola if the Catalan chooses to walk away at the end of the current season.
Doubts over Guardiola’s future are growing. Multiple media outlets have pointed to this campaign as potentially his last at the Etihad Stadium. Should that happen, City will not simply look for a safe pair of hands; they will look for someone who can sustain – and evolve – an era of dominance. Alonso’s tactical clarity, his composure in big moments, and his success in Germany have naturally thrust him into that conversation.
So the picture is clear, even if the outcome is not. One of Europe’s most coveted young coaches, two of England’s modern superclubs, and a summer that could redraw the managerial map.
If this really is Guardiola’s final act at City and if Slot cannot arrest Liverpool’s slide, the Premier League may soon find itself with a familiar face at the centre of its next rivalry – only this time, Xabi Alonso will be calling the shots from the touchline, not dictating the tempo from midfield.
