Bayer Leverkusen confirms Xabi Alonso's departure

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he will leave the club at the end of the season before Saturday's match against Borussia Dortmund.

Alonso, who joined Leverkusen in October 2022, will wrap up his adventure in Bay Arena after the last Bundesligla match on May 17th against Mainz.

I am extremely grateful to Bayer Leverkusen, my players and staff, all the people in the club and, at last, fantastic fans,” said Alonso in a statement. “Our success was the result of extraordinary team work. This club, which gave me extraordinary faith, deserved the first victory for Bundesligla. Thank you and all my gratitude for all those who helped make this triumph a reality, including victory at the Germany Cup. Leverkusen is ready for the future. This positive progress will continue, and I will follow it with interest. ”

The 43-year-old had an excellent period at the helm of Leverkusen.

When he arrived, the team was near the drop zone by the category, but Alonso took him to sixth place and to the European League semifinal.

This pushed the season 2023/24, the best in club history -- won Bundesliga for the first time and remained invincible, and won the Germany Cup. Loss in the Europe League final against Atalanta was the only defeat in 53 matches in all competitions.

Even though this season did not reach the same height, Leverkusen closed the championship in second place after Bayern Munich, which also eliminated them from the League Champions in the 1/16th phase, while in the cup they reached the semifinals.

Alonso leaves with the highest match score (2.2) and the highest percentage of victories (65 percent) in the history of the Leverkusen coach. He also set up the Bundesligla record for 33 consecutive games without losing out of the field, which could take him further to his last match.

Leverkusen's sports director, Simon Rolfis, said: “This era has been a historic moment in the development of Bayer Leverkusen. Xabi and I built a team that fascinated the football world with its quality and mentality. We are proud of the club's great progress and wish Xab everything better in the future. I'm sure our streets will meet again. ”