Jurgen Klopp draws parallels with Xabi Alonso after the Leverkusen manager turned down Bayern Munich

Jurgen Klopp had also rejected the chance to manage Bayern

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reflected on Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso’s decision to reject Bayern Munich. Alonso was wanted by the Bundesliga champions, whose current honcho Thomas Tuchel is set to leave this summer, with Liverpool also supposedly in the race for the Spaniard.

With Leverkusen currently running away at the top of the Bundesliga table, having not lost a single match their entire campaign so far, it propelled Alonso’s image as an astute tactician. The former Liverpool and Bayern midfielder took over the helm of the club in 2022 when Die Werkself were battling relegation, before helping them finish in sixth place.

This season, he may well guide Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title, as his team is currently 10 points clear of reigning champions Bayern, whose 11-year reign as German champions may soon be coming to an end.

But yesterday, much to the dismay of Liverpool and Bayern supporters, Alonso announced that he’s staying put with the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit next season, rejecting the chance to join bigger European sides.

Klopp, whose successor Liverpool are currently looking for with the German set to depart after the 2023-24 season, has weighed in on Alonso’s decision, saying that he, too, had turned down an opportunity to join Bayern as the manager.

Speaking at a recent press conference, he said:

“I can speak about a young manager being at a club where he’s doing really well. I did pretty much the same, and never regretted it. That’s everything I can really say about it. Xabi’s doing an incredible job there, Leverkusen has a good team, they’ll probably keep the team together. So I understand why he wants to do it.”

Back in 2022, Klopp had admitted that Bayern had pursued him a few times. The German is set to be available once again this summer, but has revealed that he will be taking a break from managing for at least a year.

Liverpool have Roberto De Zerbi on their radar too

With Xabi Alonso officially ruled out of the race, Liverpool have to look somewhere else to find Jurgen Klopp’s successor, and interestingly enough, there’s another manager on their radar. Brighton & Hove Albion’s head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been heavily linked with the Reds. He will be visiting Anfield on Sunday as his Brighton take on Liverpool, and it’s a game touted as a potential audition for the Italian. He led Brighton to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last year, helping them achieve European football for the first time in their 121-year history.

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