Dethroned Bundesliga Champions Leverkusen Face Uncertain Future
After conceding the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich last weekend, Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday with rumored big-name exits clouding the club’s immediate future.
With two games remaining, Leverkusen are guaranteed to finish second, but the final home match of the season could be a farewell for coach Xabi Alonso and star midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Alonso, the rookie coach who banished the ‘Neverkusen’ nickname by taking Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title last season, could be headed for Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League as a player, AFP said.
While Alonso’s departure was always on the horizon — the Basque has often spoken of Leverkusen as the perfect place to develop — Wirtz’s exit will sting, particularly if the 22-year-old Germany regular moves to Bayern, as German media have reported this week.
Born 20 minutes away in Pulheim, Wirtz was plucked from neighboring FC Cologne’s academy and made his debut aged 17, taking Kai Havertz’s record as Leverkusen’s youngest debutant and later briefly becoming the Bundesliga’s youngest goalscorer.
After recovering from an ACL injury in 2022, Wirtz was instrumental in Leverkusen’s league and cup double and was named Bundesliga player of the season.
