New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso was Bayern Munich’s top choice had Kompany left | OneFootball

After a turbulent season that saw three different managers at the helm, Chelsea have wasted no time in securing a permanent appointment by bringing Xabi Alonso to Stamford Bridge, with the Blues recently making a formal announcement.

However, in a parallel universe, the new Chelsea boss could easily have been preparing to take charge at Bayern Munich, who also sought to bring him to the Allianz Arena.

Alonso took Germany by storm in the 2023–24 season, winning the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal unbeaten, while also reaching the Europa League final—his only defeat of the campaign.

When it was decided in early 2024 that Thomas Tuchel would leave Bayern at the end of the season, Alonso was unequivocally the club’s first choice to succeed him.

The problem was that Alonso said no. He opted to remain at Bayer Leverkusen for one more season before accepting the Real Madrid job, where he was dismissed in January 2026.

Bayern then turned to Vincent Kompany, and the Belgian has since proven to be a revelation.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, reflecting on the sequence of events earlier this year, was candid about how things unfolded. “After a series of rejections, we finally opted for Vini,” he said.

“It’s clear that fate sometimes smiles upon you. It’s fortunate that he’s here. I’ve seen truly great coaches at Bayern—Lattek, Hitzfeld, Heynckes, Guardiola—and Vini is rising to that level.”

However, a report from The Telegraph revealed that Alonso ‘would have been a certainty to take over’ in Munich if Kompany had left Bayern this summer, underlining how highly Alonso is still regarded by the German champions.

Despite his time at Madrid ending early, Alonso’s reputation as a top-level manager remains largely intact, and Chelsea may have just made the best decision of the BlueCo era by appointing him.