Bayern honorary president Hoeneß: Alonso on wishlist, not nephew

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß has acknowledged for the first time that the club are interested in replacing outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel with Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso.

Former Bayern player Alonso has stunned German football by leading Leverkusen to a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga with just eight games left as they look set to end the Bavarian club's 11-year stranglehold on the championship.

They are 38 games unbeaten in all competitions under the Spaniard and are in the German Cup semi-finals and Europa League last eight. But his success means another former club Liverpool may want him to replace Jürgen Klopp, who is taking a break from football.

"He has proven that he can be a coach for the really big club and it will be much more difficult because clubs like Liverpool, Real Madrid, Leverkusen and Bayern are working on (deals for him)," Hoeneß was quoted as saying by ran.de.

The 72-year-old also said his nephew Sebastian, who has taken VfB Stuttgart to third place in the Bundesliga having been in relegation trouble last season, is probably not an option. He recently signed a new deal with Stuttgart until 2027.

"In my opinion, he has the disadvantage of being called Hoeneß at the moment. Because if he wasn't called Hoeneß with the same performance, we would probably try harder for him than we have done now," explained the honorary president.

Former Bayern coaches Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann, who left under a previous regime, have been linked in some media reports with a possible return to Munich but other publications have played down such a scenario.