After having won La Decima in his first stint at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti has outdone himself in his second stint as he has already won two La Liga and UEFA Champions League doubles in the last two years.
It has only been some months since the Merengues won their last UCL title, but it is clear that they have not had the best start to the 2024-25 season. Although they are yet to taste defeat in La Liga, they have already drawn three times, and are three points behind Barcelona.
Things are not much better in the Champions League, where their last outing saw them tasting defeat at the hands of the French side Lille.
In such a context, there have been reports of Ancelotti, whose contract also goes till 2026, facing increasing criticism inside the club, and Real Madrid have already been linked with another highly promising coach to be his replacement on the Los Blancos bench, the former midfielder Xabi Alonso.
The Spaniard’s contract with Bayer Leverkusen ends in the summer of 2026, and Mundo Deportivo reports that the German champions are already looking to make peace with the possibility that Alonso will not remain at the club beyond this season.
Therefore, they have already started looking for possible replacements for their current head coach. As things stand, the two names that are being linked with them most closely are Sebastien Hoeness, the current coach of Stuttgart, and Sandro Wagner, the assistant of Julian Nagelsmann in the German national team.
As for Alonso, his achievements with Leverkusen last season make him one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe. But there are two teams that have been linked closely with him recently. One of them is Real Madrid, and the other is Manchester City.
But the change of sporting management at the English club has reduced the chances of Alonso joining them, as Ruben Amorim is now more likely to join Hugo Viana at the club.
