24 February 2024 , 20:30
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Bayern Munich are prepared to break the bank to beat Liverpool to Xabi Alonso.
The Bavarian giants are ready to hand Alonso a staggering £20million-a-year salary to leave shock runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the summer after announcing that Thomas Tuchel will be stepping down as coach at the end of the season.
That would make Alonso the highest-paid boss in Bundesliga history - and give him parity with the Premier League ’s top-earning manager Pep Guardiola.
And although the 42-year-old Spaniard is unlikely to make money his No 1 priority, the huge financial package on offer at Bayern will crank up the pressure on Liverpool as they search for a successor for Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp, who will leave Anfield at the end of the season, is paid around £15million-a-year. Alonso is viewed by many at Liverpool as a perfect fit.
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Alonso, who once turned down the opportunity to work on Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City, is regarded as the hottest coaching prospect in the game.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in all competitions this season and strengthened their position at the top of the Bundesliga on Friday night by beating Mainz 2-1. Even though they are set to break Bayern’s 11-year stranglehold on the title, the club are already making plans for Alonso’s possible exit.
The Spaniard earns around £5milliion at Leverkusen. That’s half of what Tuchel is paid in Munich when bonuses are factored in. He played for Liverpool and under Guardiola at Bayern during a glittering playing career that also saw him star for Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich want to replace Thomas Tuchel with Xabi Alonso (Getty Images)Munich have a track record of weakening domestic rivals by signing their top players - and now they want to do the same by snatching away Leverkusen’s coach.
Harry Kane ’s goals have not been enough for Bayern to keep up with Alonso’s team but, ironically, the huge commercial numbers generated by the England captain’s arrival at the club last summer will now help them to finance a mega-deal for the Spaniard.
Guardiola earned £45million during a three-year stint at Bayern which saw him deliver a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles. Now Munich are going to put down a marker in their bid to stop Alonso heading back to Anfield by tabling an even more lucrative offer.
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