Report: The fee Real Madrid have agreed with Bayer Leverkusen for Xabi Alonso | OneFootball

Top Real Madrid managerial target Xabi Alonso officially announced his departure from Bayer Leverkusen yesterday, laying the foundation for his impending move to the Spanish capital.

It was an emotional affair for the Spanish tactician who enjoyed a very successful stint in the German institution including winning a stunning Bundesliga title ahead of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

With Real Madrid set to announce Ancelotti’s departure from the club next week, the cards are falling into place faster than expected. After all, Real Madrid’s preference for Alonso as a managerial successor has always been an open secret.

The negotiation

While Alonso was always Real Madrid’s target, a few factors served as hindrances to his move to Spain. The biggest of them was Leverkusen’s expectation of a small fee in exchange for leaving the tactician earlier than his contract.

Xabi Alonso is set to join Real Madrid. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

As relayed by BILD (h/t The Madrid Zone) in a recent update, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro and Real Madrid did indeed discuss a fee in the range of €5-10 million as part of Alonso’s move to the Spanish giants.

The compensation, moreover, may not purely be in terms of cash as the report further adds that some Real Madrid players may join the German club in exchange as well.

Needless to say, any such departure will be of a fringe player who does not bear much importance as a starter.

As relayed earlier this week, the Bundesliga side have their eyes on Alvaro Arbeloa as a replacement for the departing Xabi Alonso and there may be a negotiation on that front to make the deal work out too.

Further, Bayer also see Nico Paz as a promising talent and are interested in his signing for their first team as well.