Xabi Alonso has confirmed that he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season, with the Spanish coach expected to join Real Madrid.

In a news conference on Friday, Alonso — who has spent three years at Leverkusen, guiding them to a historic undefeated league campaign in 2023-24 as part of a domestic double — said that he will depart after his team’s two remaining Bundesliga games.

Alonso refused to discuss his future, saying it was “not the moment,” but a Real Madrid source told ESPN on Friday that Alonso is “close” to becoming the club’s new coach, with Carlo Ancelotti expected to leave after Madrid’s last LaLiga game against Real Sociedad.

“This week, the club and I have agreed that these two games will be my last as Bayer Leverkusen coach,” Alonso said. “It’s always about the moment, and now is the right moment to announce it. We’ve always had good, direct communication with the club, and now we have clarity.

“We want to have a proper farewell on Sunday [at home, against Borussia Dortmund]. It’s emotional, I talked to the players this morning. It’s been an unbelievable, fantastic three years, and now it’s a moment to share with the fans on Sunday … I think we can be proud of what we have achieved. We’ve been taking the club in the right direction.”

Alonso — a former Real Madrid midfielder, who began his coaching career with their academy — has long been Madrid’s preferred candidate to succeed Ancelotti.

The Italian has come under pressure after Madrid’s elimination in the Champions League quarterfinals and defeat in the Copa del Rey final, although his team go into Sunday’s Clásico at Barcelona still with a chance of winning the LaLiga title.

“After Mainz, once the season is wrapped, it will be the moment for the next thing,” Alonso said on Friday.

It is not yet clear whether Alonso would take charge of Madrid immediately, to coach them in this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States, or whether Madrid will appoint an interim coach for the tournament.

Paris Saint-Germain have secured their place in the UEFA Champions League final after a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night, completing a 3-1 aggregate win in the semi-finals.

The French champions, holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, extended their advantage early in the match when Fabián Ruiz unleashed a powerful strike in the 27th minute, leaving Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya with no chance.

PSG doubled their lead in the 72nd minute, with Achraf Hakimi finishing off a well-orchestrated team move to make it 2-0 on the night.

Arsenal managed to pull one back in the 76th minute through Bukayo Saka, who capitalized on a defensive lapse to slot the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Despite late pressure, the Gunners couldn’t find the equalizer, and PSG held on to advance to the final.

In the other semi-final, Inter Milan triumphed over Barcelona in a thrilling encounter that ended 4-3 after extra time, giving the Italian side a 7-6 aggregate victory.

Davide Frattesi scored the decisive goal in the 99th minute, while goalkeeper Yann Sommer made several crucial saves to preserve the lead.

The Champions League final is set for May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, where PSG will face Inter Milan in a highly anticipated showdown.

Davide Frattesi fired Inter Milan into the Champions League final on Tuesday with an extra-time winner, which gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate.

Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy.

Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, where they will feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after coming out on top in an epic contest.

Tuesday’s triumph saved Inter’s season as their bid for the treble went up in smoke after getting past Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Inter conceded top spot in Serie A to Napoli, who are favourites to claim the domestic league title, after getting past Bayern, while AC Milan dumped them out of the Italian Cup a fortnight ago.

But Inter ended Barca’s hopes for the quadruple and now head into the final weeks of the season buoyant with a second Champions League final in three seasons to look forward to.

Frattesi’s winning goal, his seventh of the season and probably the most important of his career, was all the more incredible for the fact that Inter should by rights have already been eliminated.

The hosts were heading out with two minutes remaining of regular time when Raphinha completed a comeback from two goals down at half-time and gave Barca a 3-2 lead on the night.

But Francesco Acerbi stunned everyone in the stadium, not least the already-celebrating Barca supporters, when he forced home Denzel Dumfries’ cross in the second minute of added time.

That goal came as a bolt from the blue as Barca had been by far the better team in the second half of normal time after going in at the break behind to a brilliant Lautaro Martinez goal and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty in first-half stoppage time.

Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo pulled Barca level with goals in the 54th and 60th minutes, both from sumptuous Gerard Martin deliveries, and Yann Sommer had to be at his best to keep Inter within touching distance.

Sommer made possibly the save of the season between Barca’s first two goals, somehow stopping Eric Garcia from finishing off a lightning Barca counter-attack.

And the Swiss ended up being crucial again in the 113th minute when he pulled off another miraculous save from Lamine Yamal, who hit the post just before Acerbi’s equaliser.

Inter then held off Barca as the home fans held their breath before unleashing a mighty roar at the final whistle of the match of the season.

AFP