Betrayal? Florentino's favorite coach for Real Madrid could go to Barcelona

A couple of weeks ago Barcelona lost an unusual match against Villarreal in Montjuic and in the press conference afterwards Xavi Hernandez shocked everyone by announcing that he will step down as coach after the end of the 2023/24 season. He had already received harsh criticism after the eliminations in the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid and in the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao, as the fans were not satisfied with the team's performances, and that game was too much for him.

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Since then the club's chiefs have been working to find the ideal replacement. According to reports, the first targets were legends who are starting their careers as managers. Sporting director Deco's choice was Thiago Motta, current coach of Italy's Bologna, while another favorite was Rafael Márquez, who is working at Barca Atletic, the club's subsidiary team that competes in Spain's third division.

But those names were not very appealing to fans, so other alternatives began to be mentioned. Interestingly, four German coaches seem to have a chance to replace Xavi: Bayern Munich's Thomas Tuchel, Germany National Team's Julian Nagelsmann, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and former Bayern Munich's Hansi Flick. Among them, the latter is the most likely, as he is currently unemployed.

However, now appeared another option, also related to Germany: Xabi Alonso. The former Spanish midfielder is working at Bayer Leverkusen, the surprising leaders of the Bundesliga, and was mentioned as an alternative for other European giants. He played at Liverpool, making him one of the favorites to replace Jurgen Klopp, while Florentino Perez was interested in him in case he did not agree a renewal with Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

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Is it possible?

According to Sport newspaper, the Barcelona chiefs consider Xabi Alonso an interesting coach because of his style of play. In addition, he has a past with the club, as he lived in Catalonia when his father Periko Alonso played for Los Blaugranas between 1982 and 1985. However, Liverpool appear to be the favorites to sign him, should he decide to leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season.