The Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen announced on Friday that manager Xabi Alonso has extended his contract by two years, taking it all the way until 2026.
The former player for Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich took over Leverkusen in October while they were in the relegation positions and led them to a sixth-place finish overall while also leading them to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
The new contract will keep Alonso at the BayArena for the next three seasons, despite the fact that his success at Leverkusen sparked rumors that he may be lured away from the club and into the fold of one of the more prominent teams in Europe.
The Spaniard expressed gratitude to the organization for “the trust Bayer have in me” and said that there is “a great deal of closeness and understanding between those responsible for the club and myself.”
“I have an optimistic outlook on the previous campaign. However, I am looking for more, just like the club,” he went on to say.
We are going to keep chipping away at this problem until we solve it.
According to the club’s Sporting Director Simon Rolfes, the extension of the manager’s contract serves as “an expression of great appreciation and mutual trust” between the two parties.
Granit Xhaka, a former captain of Arsenal, has already been acquired by Leverkusen this summer, while winger Moussa Diaby has been transferred to Aston Villa.