Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso does appear to be a Real Madrid manager in waiting, with most considering it a question of when rather than if. The Basque coach has been hotly tipped to take over from Carlo Ancelotti, and has been in contact with Los Blancos in recent months.
Ancelotti’s future remains in the air, and it is no secret that the Italian’s ability to bring in silverware this season will dictate whether he continues in the job. Los Blancos have told Alonso as much, but he is happy to spend another year in Germany if Ancelotti does see out his contract with Real Madrid – he and his family are happy in the Bundesliga.
However the door has been left open for Alonso to join Real Madrid if Ancelotti does move on in the summer. Another detail that Relevo add is that Alonso, knowing the club well from his playing days and his time coaching as the under-19s manager, is aware of the limitations of his role. While he will clearly have a voice in the conversations, and will fight his corner for what he believes is best, he knows that his job is primarily to coach the team, and that the decisions on transfers will be taken by others.
Alonso would like to bring in one or two players to his taste to the Santiago Bernabeu, he knows it will be difficult to convince the Real Madrid hierarchy. They will not make moves that they do not believe to be profitable, and will not alter their transfer strategy with the arrival of Alonso, in spite of his prestige.
Ancelotti has certainly felt the full effects of that, with Real Madrid not signing a striker after the departure of Karim Benzema. Neither did Los Blancos bring in a central defender after the exit of Nacho Fernandez this past summer. Recent years have seen Real Madrid spend big on younger talents such as Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham, but older players have arrived exclusively on a free.
