Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso should resist any potential interest from Liverpool this summer and remain with the German side to finish the job he’s started.
That’s according to German icon Lothar Matthaüs in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, who believes the Spaniard is “not finished” at Leverkusen yet and should hold out for a bigger job like Real Madrid.
Alonso has been heavily linked with a potential move to Liverpool since Jürgen Klopp announced that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season.
The Reds are believed to be using a statistical approach to replacing the German coach and, if that is the case, Alonso is likely to feature heavily given he’s turned Leverkusen into one of the best teams in Europe this season.
They currently sit at the top of the Bundesliga and two points clear of Bayern Munich, have gone the entire season unbeaten, drawing only four and conceding just 14 goals in total.
It’s put Alonso on the map and certainly in the viewfinder given his association with Liverpool, where he spent five years playing during his career and won the Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup.
Matthaüs, though, believes he should resist the allure of a potential return to Merseyside and instead hold out for another of his former clubs to come knocking.
“I think his job at Leverkusen is not finished: he was a coach before he sat on the bench and that helps him,” he said.
“It would be difficult to repeat Klopp’s results immediately, while in the Bundesliga he is more protected to grow and win. Then there will be time to go to a big team, maybe Real Madrid.”
