Liverpool have made discreet contact with Real Madrid to conduct background checks on Xabi Alonso ahead of a potential managerial decision this summer, according to Spanish outlet Diario AS, as pressure continues to build on Arne Slot following a trophyless and largely frustrating defence of the Premier League title.
The Merseyside club reportedly placed calls to Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex to understand what went wrong during Alonso’s brief and troubled six-month spell as manager at the Bernabeu, treating the outreach as a form of professional reference check before any formal approach is considered.
Slot guided Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut season, finishing ten points clear of Arsenal in an impressive first campaign on Merseyside. The 2025-26 season has been an altogether different story. Despite more than €450 million committed across recent transfer windows, the club have underperformed expectations significantly, with several key summer signings failing to deliver and a series of uninspiring displays intensifying supporter discontent at Anfield. The frustration boiled over visibly during the 1-1 home draw with Chelsea at the weekend, when Slot was roundly booed by sections of the Anfield crowd.
Former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant captured the mood of a growing faction of the fanbase when he posted publicly: “Enough of the excuses now, yes injuries don’t help but every team has injuries, but this is enough now, Slot can not be the manager next season, cos this style of football is not Liverpool.” The statement reflected a wider shift in sentiment around Slot, whose tactical conservatism has alienated supporters accustomed to the high-energy, high-intensity football that defined the Klopp years.
Alonso’s availability since leaving Real Madrid in January has made him the focal point of the Anfield managerial debate. The former Liverpool midfielder is one of the most emotionally significant figures in the club’s modern history, and his achievement in leading Bayer Leverkusen to an undefeated Bundesliga title in 2024 established him as one of European football’s most exciting coaching prospects. The Real Madrid spell, however, was a significant setback. Reports emerging from the Bernabeu indicated a fractured dressing room, with players including Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde at odds with Alonso’s methods. Goal.com reported that some players went as far as pretending to sleep during tactical sessions, and Alonso is said to have erupted at one point, reportedly shouting: “I didn’t realise I’d walked into a nursery here.”
It is precisely those episodes that Liverpool are seeking to understand before making any commitment. AS described the enquiries as resembling a “letter of recommendation from the business world,” with Liverpool wanting Real Madrid’s hierarchy to essentially vouch for Alonso’s conduct and managerial approach before Anfield moves further in his direction. Whether the answers they receive are satisfactory will shape the club’s entire summer planning.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano offered a significant counter-narrative, however, insisting that no contact has taken place between Liverpool and Alonso’s camp directly. “Xabi Alonso never had any sort of contact with Liverpool this year, 2026,” Romano stated plainly, adding that FSG have not made any official approach and continue to back Slot as head coach through the end of the season. David Ornstein of The Athletic also confirmed that Liverpool fully expect Slot to remain in charge next season and are planning to back him in the transfer market with particular focus on wide attacking reinforcements.
The tension between the background-check reports from AS and the denials from Romano and Ornstein reflects a club navigating a genuinely complicated decision. FSG must weigh the cost of dismantling a structure built around a manager who produced a title just twelve months ago against the growing evidence that something has gone fundamentally wrong with the project this season. Chelsea’s competing interest in Alonso adds a level of urgency that was not present a month ago. If Liverpool want him this summer, the window to act is narrowing.