Real Madrid has officially announced that it has mutually agreed with head coach Xabi Alonso to end his tenure at the club.
After terminating its cooperation with Xabi Alonso ahead of schedule, Real Madrid quickly made an interim arrangement by appointing Álvaro Arbeloa as the first-team manager. However, the club’s management has not stopped there, with President Florentino Pérez still privately pushing forward plans for a new head coach.
On Monday, Alonso ended his tenure after only half a year in charge of Real Madrid. Less than 24 hours after the former Bayer Leverkusen manager led the team to a 2-3 defeat against Barcelona and missed out on the Spanish Super Cup title, he reached an agreement with the club’s hierarchy to terminate their cooperation early.
Following the announcement of the split, Real Madrid wasted no time in promoting Arbeloa, who was previously in charge of Real Madrid Castilla. While he delivered steady performances during his tenure at the youth academy, the outside world still holds reservations about his ability to manage a first-team squad consisting of multiple high-profile and strong-willed stars. What is certain is that this appointment has not prevented the club’s management from continuing to secretly scout for a more high-caliber manager candidate.
According to sources, Florentino has identified Jürgen Klopp as a key target, hoping that he will take over the Real Madrid hot seat in the future. Klopp left Liverpool in 2024 and joined the Red Bull Group in January 2025 to take up the position of Director of Football. Although rumors linking him with Real Madrid have been rife recently, RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff publicly stated last December that Klopp’s contract contains no release clause and that the German himself is fully committed to his current role.
If the plan to bring in Klopp hits a snag, Real Madrid is also keeping tabs on other candidates, including 45-year-old Italian coach Enzo Maresca. Maresca was recently sacked by Chelsea, with Liam Rosenior taking over the reins at the club afterwards.
It is certain that while Arbeloa currently sits in the Real Madrid dugout, the evaluation and deliberation over the manager’s position are still ongoing, and Florentino has not yet made a final decision.
