Real Madrid should be interested or Tottenham Hotspur: There are rumors about Xabi Alonso almost every day. Bayer Leverkusen’s head of football, Simon Rolfes, believes the coach is staying.
Despite the almost daily new rumors about the interest of major international clubs in Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen’s sports director Simon Rolfes is not worried about his coach’s whereabouts.
“There are always rumours. We are very relaxed about that,” said Rolfes before the semi-final first leg of the Europa League at AS Roma on Thursday (9:00 p.m. / RTL).
At the same time, he pointed out that Alonso recently confessed to Bayer himself: “He has a contract, so we are very calm. And we are in close contact about how we can develop the team for next year.”
Interest from Madrid and London in Xabi Alonso
Rolfes explained that no negotiations have yet been held with the former Spanish world and European champion about an extension of the contract, which runs until 2024.
“There is currently no focus on that. Neither from him nor from us,” said the ex-national player: “We want to finish the season first and try to get the most out of it. Then there will be a long summer break, you can do that do things like that.”
Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are reportedly most interested in Alonso. The head of sports did not want to comment on rumors of interest in former Gladbach player Granit Xhaka from Arsenal. But it is clear that there will be a change in the summer. Rolfes had already announced this in February, and the recent successes have not changed anything.
“We are not guided or driven by how the games are going,” he said: “We will try to set new stimulus points and heat up competition. Nothing has changed in this view since February. At the moment, the daily topic is a lot, much more important. But we will do good things in the summer.”