Pep Guardiola made Xabi Alonso feelings clear as Man City could move for ex-Liverpool star

Speculation continues surrounding Pep Guardiola and his future beyond the end of this season, with Xabi Alonso supposedly being eyed as one candidate to take over

Man City head coach Pep Guardiola.(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)

Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to return to work in the summer, with Manchester City said to be eyeing him up in case Pep Guardiola decides to leave.

As has been the case for several seasons now, Guardiola has been linked with an exit. It remains to be seen whether we are indeed entering the final few months of his tenure at the Etihad Stadium.

But, according to The Telegraph, ex-Reds man Alonso is on a three-man shortlist should Guardiola depart after being fired by Real Madrid last month. And the Spaniard has been praised by Guardiola before.

"If you ask me about the job he is doing, honestly — wow," Guardiola said in 2024, before Alonso moved to Real Madrid and when he was leading Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title.

"He is unbeaten. His team is the only unbeaten team in all competitions in modern football, fighting with Bayern Munich.

"They are now in a position where they cannot 'win' the Bundesliga — they can only lose it.

Xabi Alonso was heavily linked with the Liverpool job before taking on the Real Madrid role.(Image: Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

"But wow. Just the way they play. They did not lose one game.

"I was incredibly fortunate to have him for one and a half or two years [at Bayern Munich] and he was such an intelligent player."

At that point, Alonso was being tipped to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Arne Slot, of course, got that job in the end, going on to win the Premier League title at the first time of asking.

Alonso has been linked with Liverpool again as a result of the Reds playing poorly at times recently, though they looked much better against Newcastle United last weekend.

Liverpool.com says: Seeing Alonso at Manchester City would feel a little odd. Guardiola has been thought to be considering his future at this time of the year for a few years now and it's not happened yet, so it's no guarantee.

Alonso will have to pick his next move carefully, though. At some point, he seems likely to end up at Liverpool (though going to Manchester might put an end to that).

He has done Germany already. PSG has Luis Enrique. Serie A is not as appealing as it once was. As a result, the Premier League does feel like the obvious choice.