Xabi Alonso Asserts He'll Remain With Leverkusen Next Season

Xabi Alonso suggested he will remain with Bayer Leverkusen next season as he is not receiving interest from rival clubs this year as he did a year ago when both Liverpool and Bayern Munich pursued him for their vacancies.

"The situation is a different one," Alonso said Thursday. "At the time, there was something to decide. This time there isn't. That's the big difference."

Alonso, who is under contract with Leverkusen through 25-26, has also been a candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid. Leverkusen is six points behind Bayern with eight rounds of the Bundesliga remaining.

"My thoughts are the same, like I said before, I'm staying focused on this season. That's the most important thing," Alonso said. "We're at an important stage and we don't want to speculate. We don't want to think about other things than football."