Real Madrid said goodbye to Xabi Alonso on Monday afternoon. According to the statement shared by the club, it was a mutual agreement, but it is clear that Florentino Pérez had already made the decision to change coaches after the 'Merengue' team's defeat in the Spanish Super Cup final against FC Barcelona (3-2)
The poor image offered by the team since mid-November, without a defined scheme or clear idea of play, along with a streak of three consecutive draws in the League and another pair of defeats against Celta and Manchester City, left Xabi on the edge of the abyss in December.
Real Madrid's reasons for sacking Xabi Alonso in January
Madrid managed to win their last three matches in 2025 and the first two of 2026, but the feelings on the field remained the same: a team incapable of stringing together more than five consecutive passes, defensive, lacking character, and physically exhausted by mid-season.
Injuries and internal conflicts ended up undermining Alonso's project, who was left without the board's support in a locker room dominated by the 'heavyweights'. From Fede Valverde's discontent at playing as a full-back, to Vinicius's tantrum after being substituted in the league Clásico, to Kylian Mbappé's ugly gesture at the Super Cup awards ceremony
Every touch of the squad left the Tolosarra exposed, without control over the squad and with a board whose market plan kept him completely out of the loop with his technical staff. Only a victory against Barça in the Super Cup could have saved the Basque coach. Although the defeat was narrow, Barça's superiority was evident and the former Leverkusen coach's fate was already sealed.
Now, with a sporting project that appears adrift, Florentino is betting on a man from within the club to try and salvage what is shaping up to be **the second consecutive season without titles** for Madrid
Xabi Alonso's Records as Real Madrid Coach (June 2025 - January 2026)
- Matches: 34
- Wins: 24
- Draws: 4
- Losses: 6
- Goals for: 72
- Goals against: 38
- Effectiveness: 74.51 %
Arbeloa Takes Charge of Madrid Until the End of the Season
Minutes after making Xabi Alonso's dismissal official, Real Madrid confirmed Álvaro Arbeloa as his replacement. The Salamanca native had been coaching Castilla this season, a team with which he achieved **10 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses**In 19 matches of the Primera RFEF, **he accumulated 25 goals for, 25 against, and 31 points** to place fourth in the Group 1 standings, 13 behind leaders Tenerife (44), in a promotion playoff spot for the Segunda División. According to the club's official statement:
"Álvaro Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025, and he has developed his entire coaching career in Real Madrid's youth academy, since 2020. He managed Infantil A in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, Cadete A in 2021-2022, and Juvenil A from 2022 to 2025. As coach of Juvenil A, he achieved a treble in the 2022-2023 season (League, Copa del Rey, and Copa de Campeones) and the league title in the 2024-2025 season."
The former full-back also played for the first team at Real Madrid between 2009 and 2016, winning a total of 8 titles in 238 official matches. Arbeloa was one of the trusted men of **José Mourinho** (2010-2013) and, as a coach, he boasts a style similar to that of the Portuguese, with a formation that prioritizes defensive order and verticality in attack
Real Madrid did not specify how long the 42-year-old coach will be on the 'Merengue' bench, but the goal is to keep him there until the end of the season. Names like Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp were mentioned in recent weeks as possible successors to Xabi Alonso.
However, 'Zizou' is only interested in managing the French national team, while Klopp has no intention, for now, of returning to manage any club or national team. As for homegrown candidates, the departure of **Raúl González** from Castilla last summer cooled rumors about his possible promotion to the first team.