Real Madrid may well be on the hunt for a new manager in the near future, with Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso widely believed to be their preferred choice. The Basque coach has an agreement with die Werkself that he will be allowed to leave for Los Blancos.
Although Leverkusen Simon Rolfes recently declared that Alonso would be staying in the Bundesliga, the feeling in Spain is that Los Blancos will pursue their former midfielder if they do sack Carlo Ancelotti this summer, with his job on the line in the next five games.
However he will not come cheap. According to BILD, via Sport, even if Alonso has an understanding with Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro that he can exit for Real Madrid, they will demand a fee for his services. Alonso is out of contract in the summer of 2026, like Ancelotti, but Leverkusen would demand a minimum of €10m to let the 43-year-old return to Madrid.
Real Madrid would likely try to negotiate that fee down, having rarely paid major transfers for managers, and given Alonso’s apparent desire to manage at the Santiago Bernabeu. Timing will also be an issue for Los Blancos to contend with, as the Club World Cup looms on the horizon.
There are 24 days between the end of Real Madrid’s La Liga season, and their opening fixture in the USA at the Club World Cup against Al-Hilal. If they are to sack Ancelotti, they would no doubt want their permanent solution in place by the time they cross the pond, although it is far from an ideal time to take over. Amongst those 24 days is an international break inolving the Nations League final four and South American World Cup qualifiers, meaning any new coach would not have a significant chunk of his squad available for around half of that period.