Liverpool is set to be coached by the Dutchman Arne Slot from next season, but for a while, many assumed that it would be Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso who was to take over from Jürgen Klopp.

Alonso made it clear relatively early on, though, that he had decided to remain with the Bundesliga side next year no matter what happened in the title race. As it is, Leverkusen has won the league and is a game away from being unbeaten. It is also in both the German cup final and the Europa League final, so could complete an historic treble.

It has been a simply stunning season for Leverkusen. No team — not even Bayern Munich — has ever gone a whole Bundesliga campaign without defeat, but Alonso's side needs to avoid losing to Augsburg to complete the domestic season unbeaten. It is the heavy favorite to beat Kaiserslautern in the cup final too.

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Even if he completes all of those tasks, potentially winning the treble and going unbeaten, Alonso's decision to stay at Leverkusen has already been made. The Spaniard has nothing left to prove with Leverkusen but will get the chance to manage in the Champions League next year and attempt to retain its Bundesliga crown. Alonso has made no secret of the fact that he wants to look at his career in the very long term and will be in no rush to take each new step.

According to the German outlet Abendzeitung, based in Munich, Alonso has mapped out a long-term career path that includes Liverpool. Only 42, Alonso is said to want to coach the Reds, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at some point during his time as a manager, with the only question being the order in which he is able to take on those jobs.

That will be easy enough with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. There are often vacancies at both of those clubs, who tend to go through plenty of head coaches. But with Liverpool, the timing might not align quite so nicely.

This summer marks the first time since 2015 that Liverpool is looking for a new manager. The hope will be that Arne Slot can be in charge in the long term and then it will be a case of whether the timings add up in the future.

Liverpool.com says: Alonso is young enough and talented enough that he should be able to pick and choose his clubs in the future, to some extent. It is not hard to see him at all three of his previous clubs in the future, though the timing felt perfect this summer for him to tick Anfield off the list.