Bayern Munich’s Xabi Alonso controls the ball during his friendly football match against Belgium’s KAS Eupen at the Aspire Academy in Doha on January 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / KARIM JAAFAR
Spanish World Cup winner and double European champion Xabi Alonso is set to retire at the end of the season when his Bayern Munich contract expires, a report in Germany said.
Leaders Bayern kick off the second
half of the Bundesliga season at
Freiburg on Friday in their bid for a
fifth straight German league title with the 35-year-old Alonso poised to end his playing career in June.
It would mean the German giants
could lose significant experience for
next season with club captain and ex-Germany skipper Philipp Lahm also reportedly considering retiring in June to take over as Bayern’s team manager.
According to Sport Bild, Alonso has
already told club bosses he does not
want to sign a contract extension.
Having joined Bayern for the 2014/15 season, Alonso is bidding to finish with a third straight German league title with Munich currently three points clear in the table.
Alonso has won 16 titles for clubs and country, including the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European championships with Spain, making 114 international appearances.
He retired from international duty in
August 2014.
He has won the Champions league
twice with two different clubs.
He started out at Real Sociedad and
joined Liverpool in 2004 after being
named Spanish player of the year in
2003.
He was part of the Liverpool side
which famously won the 2005
Champions League title in a penalty
shoot-out, coming back from 3-0 down against AC Milan in Istanbul.
After five years and 143 English
Premier League appearances with
Liverpool, Alonso joined Real Madrid
in 2009.
He again won the Champions League in 2014 when current Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti steered Real to a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid before Alonso transferred to Germany for the 2014/15 season.
