Throughout the morning, reports circulating in Spain claimed that Xabi Alonso had already committed his future to Real Madrid. As a result, anticipation was high at the press conference held at the BayArena ahead of the match against Borussia Dortmund in this weekend's Bundesliga fixture… and Xabi Alonso ended up confirming what had been an open secret.

"These are my last two games"

Over the past few weeks, Xabi Alonso had repeatedly stated in each of his media appearances that he had no news to share for the moment. However, unlike last season, he also did not confirm that he would remain at Bayer Leverkusen. After the recent draw against Freiburg, which practically handed the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich, Xabi Alonso has now bid farewell to Bayer Leverkusen.

The announcement was clear and direct right at the start of the press conference: "The club and I have agreed that these will be my last two matches in charge of the team," said Xabi Alonso, who will say goodbye to the BayArena this matchday before traveling to face Mainz in the final game of the Bundesliga season. "These have been three fantastic years, and now it’s time to share this moment with the fans in this stadium where I’ve experienced so much."

Xabi Alonso did not speak about his future

Once the announcement was made, everyone expected him to give some clue about his next move. However, it seems we’ll still have to wait. Xabi Alonso has great respect for Carlo Ancelotti, and he will not send any sort of message until either the Italian coach or Real Madrid officially announces their separation. In principle, everything is expected to accelerate after El Clásico against Barcelona this weekend.

"It’s a moment of mixed emotions. This is the right time to do it. But not to talk about my future," said Xabi Alonso in his farewell message as Bayer Leverkusen manager. In any case, even if events unfold quickly in the coming days, Xabi Alonso’s intention is to take over the bench starting next season, not during the Club World Cup.