Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid after seven months; Álvaro Arbeloa to take over

Xabi Alonso has left his job as coach of Real Madrid, only seven months after arriving for his first day at the club’s Valdebebas training ground. A brief statement announced his departure “by mutual consent” on Monday evening after Madrid’s 3-2 defeat in the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona the previous night.

He will be replaced, at least in the short term, by his former Real Madrid and Liverpool teammate Álvaro Arbeloa, who was coach of Castilla, Madrid’s B team. Madrid’s statement on Arbeloa made no mention of when he had been appointed until. Alonso had been under pressure after a run that began with a 4-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain and included a damaging loss to Liverpool in the Champions League in early November.

That result started a sequence of two victories in eight games that turned a five-point lead over Barcelona in La Liga into a four-point deficit; over his spell he managed 34 games and Madrid were defeated six times, conceding three against Barcelona, four against PSG and five against Atlético.

The former midfielder’s arrival had been announced in May on a contract until 2028; he replaced Carlo Ancelotti and arrived after success at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga, the German cup and reached the final of the Europa League. He had requested signings including Martín Zubimendi, who ended up joining Arsenal, and took charge in July ahead of the Club World Cup despite apparent reluctance to begin before the league season.

Key Topics

Sports, Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloa, Spanish Super Cup, La Liga