Xabi Alonso, the head coach of Bayer Leverkusen, who is said to be the front-runner to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, declined to comment on the connections on Friday, stating that it is not a good moment to talk about the future with his team’s dreams of winning the Bundesliga on the line.

Alonso, a former midfielder for Real Madrid, is the Los Blancos’ top pick to replace the Italian, who is expected to leave the team at the end of the current campaign due to Real’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals and the evaporation of the La Liga title.

“Talking about the future is not a smart idea right now. This is a critical time in the season. I don’t want to discuss rumors and conjecture. During the pre-game news conference, Alonso said, “I understand that this is happening, but what’s more important to me is what’s happening right now.”

After winning the first league championship in the club’s history and being undefeated for the whole 2023–24 domestic season, Leverkusen has not been at their best and lost to Bayern Munich in the UCL Round of 16.

Following that, they squandered the opportunity to close the gap on Bayern when they drew 0-0 with Union Berlin last weekend and were stunningly upset by Arminia Bielefeld, a team in Germany’s third division, in the DFB Pokal semi-finals.

“Five games remain to be played. The yearning is still the same. There had a whole week to workout and talk with every player after last Saturday’s goalless draw with Union Berlin.

“We are aware that our game versus Union wasn’t the greatest. We want to prove that we are capable of doing it better on Sunday. I am aware that saying that is usually simple. Therefore, we must and want to demonstrate it on the field,” he said.

With five league games left and a six-point disadvantage to Bayern Munich, Alonso was questioned about the league leaders’ lead and if the team still had a chance to close the gap.

Even if we’re realistic and it’s not easy, we want to do everything because in football, anything can happen. They must play five games as well, but we are concentrating on ourselves and the areas we can affect and better. Additionally, I believe the squad will give it their best to the very end,” Alonso said.