Football
ESPN staff 7y

Bayern's Xabi Alonso not looking to retire with future uncertain

Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso says he is not looking to retire when his contract expires this summer.

The 35-year-old has not signed a new contract with the German champions but says he's not in any hurry.

"We have got time. There is no deadline. It depends on how I feel," the midfielder said at a news conference. "My body is OK. My head is OK. I am feeling good at the moment."

However, should this be his final season at the Allianz Arena, Alonso backed Joshua Kimmich to lead the team in the years to come.

"Josh is fantastic. He plays very well in any position, which is a great quality to have," Alonso said. "He will surely have a great future at this club for many, many years."

Kimmich thanked his teammate for the support, saying: "It is nice to hear how Xabi feels about me.

"In my first season nobody expected anything from me. I had joined from the second division, it was an advantage that I could only surprise people. Now I have shown something and have to assert it.

"I like playing in every position. But my long-term goal is to establish myself in one particular position."

Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski backed Bayern to enter the second half of the season on a strong run despite injuries that have struck the team in the latter months in previous years.

"We will be even better in this second half of the season," the Poland international told Bild. "We will be better tactically and physically.

"We always had problems toward the end of the season in the past two years, both physically and with injuries."

Lewandowski also praised the midseason training in Qatar under the guidance of coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"Our workload is perfect," he said. "A lot of our players did not really have the chance to do much work on a conditional level ahead of the season because of the Euros.

"The games immediately came thick and fast. A setback was inevitable because of our short preseason. But we are doing a lot of work now."

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