BERLIN – Former Ballon d’Or winner Lothar Matthaus said on March 27 that a move to Liverpool in the summer was “not the right option” for in-demand Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso.

The 42-year-old Spaniard has been linked with moves to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, all clubs where he spent time as a player, having done a stunning job at runaway Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen.

He has the unbeaten side 10 points clear of Bayern Munich and on track for a first-ever German title with eight games remaining this season.

In an interview on March 27, Matthaus said following outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp would be difficult for any coach and that the in-demand Alonso should stay with Leverkusen.

He said: “Liverpool is not the right option for Xabi Alonso after this season. He has better options.”

However, Klopp himself called Alonso the “standout” of the “next generation” of coaching talent.

Amid widespread speculation linking Alonso with the Anfield hot seat he will vacate at the end of the season, the German said in February: “Xabi is doing an incredible job...

“The dinosaurs if you want, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Jose) Mourinho, (Pep) Guardiola, maybe me, we will not do it – okay, maybe Mourinho – but all the rest will not do it for the next 20 years.

“The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is a standout in that department... Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing.

“The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional.”

Matthaus spent the majority of his career at Bayern and said he would welcome Alonso as the replacement for outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel in the summer.

But, the German admitted, that in Munich “(Alonso) would have to build a new team for the future, with new players”.

Leverkusen have won 34 and drawn four of 38 games in all competitions this season. With the club in the final four of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Alonso has Leverkusen on course for a treble.

Said Matthaus: “Why move to Liverpool? Why should he leave this beautiful team which makes us happy with their beautiful football, like Barcelona 12 years ago?”

Former Liverpool left-back John Arne Riise told The Straits Times in January that his former teammate Alonso, who has played for and learnt from the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho and Ancelotti, would be his choice to replace Klopp at Anfield.

He said: “Xabi has been a player at the club, he knows the club, he knows the fans. He knows what is expected when it comes to results.

“At Liverpool... expectations are high and you need to have a good relationship with the fans. And he has that, so my pick will be him.

“He is hungry, he is young and he has already proven he is a good manager. You could see it in the way he plays football, his character, how he trains.

“He is tactically smart, he is always looking around, he’s always taking in everything people said, he reads the game very well and he can change a play during a game.

“And that’s how you have to be as a manager.”

Klopp shocked the football world in January by announcing he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years at the Reds, citing exhaustion.

Matthaus said the 56-year-old’s success at Liverpool made him a hard act to follow.

“To coach at Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp is not easy because Jurgen is a hero, he’s fantastic. What he was doing is great and what could you do that was much better?”

The 1990 World Cup-winning captain praised current Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann and said they were “on the right path” after wins over France and the Netherlands in the last week.

However, he added: “In Germany, our dream and wish was that Jurgen Klopp would be the next national coach.” AFP