May 9 (UPI) -- Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso will step down from his role at the end of the season, he announced Friday.
"This week, the club and I have agreed that these two games will be my last as Bayer Leverkusen coach," Alonso told reporters. "We have been talking this week about it's always about the moment, and now is the right moment to announce it.
"We've always had good communication, direct communication with the club, and now that we have clarity its the right moment to say for sure. it's a moment with mixed emotions."
Alonso led the Black and Reds to a 19-2-11 record through 32 matches this season. They sit in second place behind German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Alonso, who played at Bayern from 2014 to 2017, became Leverkusen coach in 2022.
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The Black and Reds finished third in 2021-22 and sixth in 2022-23, with Alonso joining the staff in October of the latter season. He led the Black and Reds to Bundesliga and German Cup crowns in 2023-24, his first full season. They were the first team in history to complete an unbeaten (28-0-6) Bundesliga campaign.
Alonso said he would "not talk about" his future because he wanted to "have a proper farewell." Sources told ESPN, the BBC and Marca that Alonso is expected to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
The Black and Reds will host Borussia Dortmund at 9:30 a.m. EDT Sunday in Leverkusen. They will take on Mainz 05 in their season finale May 17 in Mainz.
"Together with Xabi Alonso we have written a success story just through winning the league title without defeat in a way not seen in German football," Werner Wenning, chair of the shareholders committee at Bayer 04, said in a news release. "He was an outstanding ambassador at all times as coach both for our club as well as for the whole Bundesliga.
"Therefore, we are very grateful to Xabi Alonso."
