Bastian Schweinsteiger has praised Xabi Alonso's "smart" decision not to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The Bayern Munich legend spent a year as the Spaniard's team-mate where they won the Bundesliga title together under Pep Guardiola in the 2014/15 season. Almost 10 years on from their triumph, Alonso has won the ultimate prize in German football once again, this time as boss of Bayer Leverkusen.
The ex-Liverpool star is on course for a historic Treble with the club and despite intense interest from the Premier League side who looked to appoint him as the successor to Jurgen Klopp, the 42-year-old instead announced his intention to remain Leverkusen boss for next season.
READ MORE: Bayer Leverkusen rescue 45-game unbeaten streak with 97th-minute goal in wild scenes
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SkySchweinsteiger spoke about Alonso's decision to stay put and reject overtures from Liverpool and Bayern Munich, admitting it was "smart" not to replace the German legend.
Speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, the 2014 World Cup winner said: "[On Xabi Alonso turning down Bayern Munich] I don’t know, it’s not easy to step into a coaching role at Bayern Munich, the expectations are very high.
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"I also thought that he might think about the Liverpool situation as well but maybe it’s smart not to step into the footsteps of Jürgen Klopp." The former midfielder said that Alonso has time to manage at the biggest clubs in the world and he's in no need to expedite that process.
"With Leverkusen, he has won the league, and he might win the cup and is still in the Europa league. Then next year to play in the Champions League, with the way they play, they could go far. He is still a young coach; he has time to be coach of one of the best teams in the world in the future," he added.
Leverkusen remain unbeaten in all competitions this season as they rescued their 45-game streak with a 97th minute equaliser from Josip Stanisic in their 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Sunday (April 21).
Meanwhile, the frontrunner for the Liverpool job is currently Sporting's Ruben Amorim, although nothing is set in stone as yet. At Schweinsteiger's old clubs United and Bayern, the future also remains unclear. Erik ten Hag's job is in the balance despite narrowly reaching another FA Cup final, while Bayern do not have a replacement for Thomas Tuchel lined up yet for beyond the end of the season.
