Xabi Alonso has parted ways with Real Madrid after just over seven months as the head coach and been replaced by Álvaro Arbeloa.
A statement by the club disclosed that Alonso has gone “by mutual agreement”, just a day after a defeat by arch rivals Barcelona, in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday and with his team four points behind the Catalan club at the top of La Liga.
Arbeloa, also a former Madrid player, steps up from coaching the club’s B team, a job he took last June. He has been a coach in the Madrid set-up since since 2020, working with academy sides.
Alonso officially started on 1 June after a successful spell at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the domestic double in 2023-24 and led the team to the Europa League final. After overseeing Madrid’s run to the Club World Cup semi-finals he began impressively, winning 13 of his next 14 games, the exception being a heavy derby defeat by Atlético Madrid.
BREAKING: The reasons why Xabi Alonso was sacked:
- Poor physical preparation.
- Bad harmony with the players.
- Bad image in the Super Cup final against Barça.
It has also been widely reported that Xabi Alonso was NOT respected in training sessions:
- Some IMPORTANT players were STROLLING AROUND in training
- There were players who arrived at the last minute, finished the session, and left immediately
- Xabi Alonso, his assistant and his fitness coach all HAD to KEEP saying to some players to do gym work, pressing or tactical work
- It was even reported that Xabi had asked his Real Madrid players to form a guard of honour for Barcelona after losing in the Spanish Super Cup Final.
- But Kylian Mbappé said NO. The result? The players chose to listen to Mbappé over Alonso. His authority was effectively SHOT TO BITS after that.
Below is Real Madrid’s statement:
OFFICIAL CLUB STATEMENT:
“Real Madrid C. F. communicates that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his time as coach of the first team.”
“Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Real Madrid because he is a legend of Real Madrid and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.”
“Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and all his technical team for their work and dedication throughout this time, and wishes them good luck in this new stage of their lives.”
OFFICIAL REAL MADRID STATEMENT ON ALVARO ARBELOA:
“Real Madrid C. F. would like to announce that Álvaro Arbeloa will be the new first team coach.”
“Álvaro Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025, and has spent his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s youth academy since 2020.”
“He coached the Under-14s A in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the Under-16s in the 2021-2022 season and the Under-19s from 2022 to 2025. As coach of the Under-19s, he won the treble in the 2022-2023 season (League, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) and the League in the 2024-2025 season.”
“As a player, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid in one of the most successful periods of its history. He defended our shirt between 2009 and 2016, in 238 official matches. During that time he won 8 trophies: 2 European Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 1 Uefa Super Cup, 1 LaLiga title, 2 Copa del Rey trophies and 1 Spanish Super Cup.”
“With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was also part of a historic era, in which he won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2 European Championships (2008 and 2012). He was capped 56 times.”