Real Madrid confirm Xabi Alonso as new head coach

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Real Madrid have confirmed Xabi Alonso as their new head coach.

The former Spain international midfielder, 43, has signed a three-year contract after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, having spent two and a half years there in what was his first senior head coaching role.

Alonso replaces Carlo Ancelotti, the five-time Champions League winner, who has departed the Bernabeu after a second spell to become head coach of the Brazil national team.

Alonso’s first games in charge will come at the Club World Cup which begins in the United States next month, with Madrid drawn in Group H alongside Al Hilal, Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg.

In announcing his departure from Leverkusen, Alonso said it was the “right moment” to leave a year on from guiding them to the Bundesliga title — a first in their history — and the DFB-Pokal as part of an unbeaten domestic 2023-24. Leverkusen were only beaten in the Europa League in the final by Atalanta, while their domestic run finally ended after 462 days with defeat by RB Leipzig in September 2024.

In 2024-25, Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich. They were knocked out of the Champions League after a 5-0 aggregate defeat by Bayern in the round-of-16.

Alonso enjoyed a successful playing career at Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

Alonso’s playing career started at Real Sociedad and also took in spells with Rafael Benitez at Liverpool as well as with Pep Guardiola at Bayern. He played 236 times for Madrid after joining from Liverpool in 2009. During that time, he won La Liga, the Champions League and two Copas del Rey.

Alonso also won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship twice — in 2008 and 2012 — with Spain.

Following his retirement in 2017, he began his managerial career at Real Sociedad B in 2019 before moving on to Leverkusen in October 2022.

Alonso took over with the club in the relegation zone before guiding them to a sixth-placed finish. He was rewarded with a new contract in May 2023 that tied him down to June 2026.

Alonso was an early frontrunner to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool after it was announced in January 2024 he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season. Arne Slot would ultimately succeed the German.

He was also seen as Bayern’s top choice to replace Thomas Tuchel before committing his immediate future to Leverkusen in March of last year, with Vincent Kompany later appointed in Bavaria.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, won two La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues during two spells in charge at the Bernabeu. He has also won the Copa del Rey twice as well as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December.

Madrid were knocked out of this season’s Champions League following a 5-1 aggregate defeat by Arsenal, losing at the quarter-final stage of the competition for the first time since 2004. They also lost four times to rivals Barcelona across Spain’s three domestic competitions, including twice in cup finals.

With the win against Real Sociedad on Saturday, Madrid finished the La Liga campaign in second place behind Barcelona, who had been confirmed as champions earlier this month.

The game saw Ancelotti bid farewell to the Bernabeu before he begins work with Brazil on Monday. Dorival Junior was dismissed by Brazil following the 4-1 defeat to Argentina in March. The Italian’s first games in charge of his new side come with World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay next month.

‘A new era’

Analysis from Real Madrid correspondent Guillermo Rai

Alonso’s arrival is finally official — although it has been an open secret for many months.

The Basque was a former Madrid player for five years, but the feeling at the club is that a new era is beginning with him.

What nobody doubts is that Alonso is ready for the job, not even his predecessor Ancelotti, and there are expectations about what new things he will bring.

The appetizer has been the change in Madrid’s transfer policy, with the confirmed signing of Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth, the soon-to-be arrival of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and the possible transfer of Alvaro Carreras from Benfica before the Club World Cup.

Such an investment was unheard of in Ancelotti’s tenure so far, indicating the enthusiasm within the Madrid management and the need for change.

After a season full of problems, some of them still unresolved such as injuries, Xabi will have to prove himself at a higher level than Leverkusen.

It will be interesting especially what he does in his first days in charge because he has immediate decisions to make with the Club World Cup less than a month away.

The season is expected to be a long one, but at Madrid the results need to arrive quickly.

(Top photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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