A fairytale return to the Bernabeu has lasted only 7 months as Real Madrid have pulled the plug on the Xabi Alonso project. The Spaniard who joined at the start of the 2025/26 season has decided to leave the club with mutual agreement following Madrid's 3-2 loss to FC Barcelona in the Super Copa Final on Sunday. Los Blancos are also trailing in the La Liga title chase, with Barcelona 4 points clear at the top of the table.
“Real Madrid C.F. announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his tenure as first-team coach," the club said in a statement.
Alonso played for Real Madrid for 5 seasons before his move to Bayern Munich in 2014. After retiring from football, he started his career with Real Sociedad B in Spain before taking up the Bayer Leverkusen. In Germany, he led Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title along with a run to the Europa League final. The club also won the DFB Pokal title.
A highly coveted manager, he replaced the outgoing Carlo Ancelotti at the start of the season. However, Alonso did not always enjoy the best of times with the squad, including a public spat with star player Vinicius Jr. In total he coached the team in 31 games across competitions, winning 22 and losing 5.
He led Real Madrid to the Club World Cup semi-finals. Alonso won the first 13 of his 14 games, with a heavy defeat to Atletico Madrid being the exception. Form plummeted and the latest defeat to Barcelona was the final nail in the coffin for the Spaniard. Former Real Madrid teammate Alvaro Arbeola will replace him in the dugout.
