Xabi Alonso has agreed a deal to become manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach this summer.
The former Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid player is in charge of Real Sociedad’s B team but will return to Germany in June to take the top job at Mönchengladbach. Alonso will replace Marco Rose, who signed a deal last month to become Borussia Dortmund manager at the end of the season after activating a clause in his current contract.
“When I finished playing, I could not leave football behind,” Alonso said.
Gladbach were challenging for the Champions League places before Christmas but have fallen to 10th in the Bundesliga after an alarming downturn in results. Alonso won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern after being signed by Pep Guardiola in 2014 and ended a glorious playing career three years later.
Bayern’s chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, told Kicker in 2019: “I think we have to make an effort to bring Xabi Alonso back to Bayern at some point. He is the best central midfielder we’ve had in recent years. He wasn’t the quickest, but he was the best strategically and the most intelligent I’ve ever seen in our midfield. He was a marvellous player, who speaks four languages and German fluently. He was a real personality. I’d really like him to return to Bayern one day, he’s a true gentleman.”
