Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has denied reports that head coach Xabi Alonso and star midfielder Florian Wirtz are certain to leave the club in the near future.
Leverkusen returned to form this weekend with a 5-2 Bundesliga win over Heidenheim, but remain nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
But, asked what the chances of Wirtz staying at the club were, Carro insists that they are: “Very high and why shouldn’t they be high? As long as he has a contract here, as long as he feels comfortable here, as long as he knows that he can play top football here and has a top team and can celebrate successes, then he is happy.”
Wirtz, who has seven goals in all competitions this season, and provided an assist in the win over Heidenheim, has two-and-a-half years left on a contract due to run until 2027.
While widespread interest has been reported in the playmaker, including from England and Spain, Leverkusen value Wirtz, 21, in excess of €100m.
Carro has also flatly denied reports that Alonso, the head coach who led Leverkusen to an unbeaten domestic double in 2023-24, already has an agreement to leave the club in the summer.
“What I can definitely deny — one hundred percent — is that there are any guarantees or agreements that I have heard in the media.
“The thoughts of all the players, coaches, coaching staff, and management of the club are in the here and now. We have enough to do on the pitch until the end of the year. It often annoys me that there is such speculation. I can admit that.
“But the here and now is important, nobody is interested in next season at the moment and nothing has been finalized. He has a contract for now.”
Like Wirtz, Alonso has also been the subject of intense interest. He was Bayern Munich’s first choice for their vacant manager position last summer and was a candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Instead, he opted to remain at Leverkusen, where — after signing a two-year extension in August 2023 — his contract runs until 2026.
(Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
