Why Xabi Alonso could pick Liverpool over Bayern Munich

Xabi Alonso is now expected to have a choice between Liverpool and Bayern Munich this summer. Here's why he could pick the Reds.

It appears that Xabi Alonso will have a big decision to make this summer. The Bayer Leverkusen boss is flying right now, with his team performing as one of the absolute best in the world.

That has massive clubs interested in his services. What makes things particularly interesting is that Alonso reportedly has a career plan that sees him only really interested in moving to three clubs - Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Liverpool are in the market for a new manager, of course, with Jurgen Klopp stepping down at the end of the season. Alonso supposedly tops their shortlist of replacements.

The Times now claims that Bayern Munich expect to move on from Thomas Tuchel this year. They also have Alonso as their primary target, creating a race for his services.

Alonso gave himself limited options for his next club but he's still somehow set to face a difficult decision on his future. Here's why we believe he could ultimately choose Liverpool.

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Future-proof

The biggest reason Liverpool are more appealing than Bayern is the amount of necessary work for a new boss. The Reds are essentially future-proofed.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez are all first-team players who are either 25 or younger. Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Joe Gomez are 26 or 27.

The likes of Andy Robertson and Alisson Becker are firmly established at the club and shouldn't start to wind down for another few years. The latter could conceivably play at the top level for a long time to come.

In other words, Liverpool are a young team that has made enormous strides this season and should naturally improve going forward. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are major question marks, but that's really it.

Bayern, on the other hand, have work to do. They need a new goalkeeper, Thomas Muller is 34, Harry Kane is 31, Joshua Kimmich is entering the final year of his deal and rumoured to leave, as is Leroy Sane. Alphonso Davies could reportedly join Real Madrid. Matthijs de Ligt is another who reportedly isn't happy and could move on.

There are so many question marks over the squad and it may simply need an overhaul. After all, it's not currently as effective as the one Alonso has at Leverkusen.

Liverpool, however, need tweaking - the building blocks are there for success.

Leverkusen's Rivals

This one entirely depends on Alonso himself, but it's notable that Bayern will be asking him to leave Leverkusen for the very team he's currently competing with. That's not necessarily an easy thing to do.

Especially as Alonso is contracted to Leverkusen and reports say he only has a verbal agreement to leave for one of his former clubs. When he made that agreement, his current side weren't considered to be on Bayern's level and title challenges were out of the question.

That's very much changed.

Thus departing on a verbal agreement for Bayern, right after a season of rivalling them, is a much bigger deal than moving to Anfield. It could well be a factor.

Tuchel uncertainty

Bayern have no sacked Thomas Tuchel. While it's expected that they eventually do, it remains possible that they simply don't. Alonso won't necessarily know the job is even available until the end of the season.

And that should send a message of sorts. Bayern don't have a clear plan here - they'd be abandoning their current one. This has been a theme over recent years.

When Jurgen Klopp moved to Liverpool, Pep Guardiola was Bayern boss. He stepped down in 2016. Since then, the Bavarians have appointed Carlo Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes, Niko Kovac, Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann and Tuchel as permanent managers.

At Liverpool, there is stability. At Bayern, there absolutely isn't and they will almost certainly be changing course yet again in 2024. That, above all, could swing Alonso's decision later this year.