Xabi Alonso sacked as Real Madrid manager after seven months

Xabi Alonso has been dismissed as Real Madrid manager, the club said after a meeting at Valdebebas on Monday following his return from Saudi Arabia. The statement described him as a "legend" as a player but said he was no longer coach at Real Madrid. Alonso had been in the job for seven months, having begun earlier than he intended with the Club World Cup in the US and leaving after the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah.

The club said the departure was by "mutual consent". He is the 11th manager in two decades under president Florentino Pérez to last less than a year. The Guardian said Alonso had been presented as a systems coach at what it called a players' and president-led club, and that tensions with figures such as Vinícius Júnior had undermined his authority.

The article cites heavy defeats, including to Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético, inconsistent domestic form and a strained dressing-room atmosphere, along with disputes over transfers and fitness staff, as factors in his brief reign. Eight minutes after the sacking was announced, Real Madrid revealed Álvaro Arbeloa — promoted from the B team, Castilla — as Alonso's successor.

Key Topics

Sports, Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, Alvaro Arbeloa, Vinicius Junior