da bet sport： Joe Cole opined that Xabi Alonso has taken a "terrible decision" by rejecting Liverpool and Bayern Munich to remain with Bayer Leverkusen.

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Alonso confirmed he will stay at LeverkusenWas courted by Liverpool to replace KloppCole believes snubbing Reds will be a mistakeWHAT HAPPENED?

Alonso, who had emerged as a prime candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, has confirmed he wants to stay at his current club. With Leverkusen poised for a potential Champions League campaign and Bundesliga title defence next season, Alonso will reject Liverpool and Bayern Munich's approaches, saying: "My job is not done here." However, Cole criticised Alonso's decision, branding it a "terrible" choice given the volatile nature of managerial careers.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT COLE SAID

In an interview with , Cole stated: "I think it’s a terrible decision. As managers your stock goes so up and down so quickly, he’s the hottest property in world football right now in management, I think he should’ve made the move this summer. In a years’ time it could be completely different, keeping this team together is going to be tough enough because they’ve got some fantastic players and all the giants in Europe are going to be looking at them.”

OWEN HARGREAVES DISAGREES WITH COLE

Former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves differed from Cole and instead hailed Alonso for making a judicious call.

“I’m impressed actually, I think he’s made the right call, stay there and then see what happens in the summer,” Hargreaves said. “If he wins the Bundesliga, maybe another European trophy and he can keep that team together then it could be something special. It’s probably a bit of a surprise, most managers when their stock’s high they tend to strike but Xabi, obviously relatively young as a manager he wants to stay where he’s very comfortable.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Leverkusen stand on the brink of potentially dethroning Bayern as German champions after years of dominance as they currently lead by a staggering 13 points. In addition to their league success, Leverkusen's progress in other competitions underscores their formidable stature. The club has advanced to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, where they are set to face second-division side Fortuna Dusseldorf. Moreover, Leverkusen are gearing up for a crucial quarter-final clash against West Ham in the Europa League, following a resilient display against Qarabag in the previous round.