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📻 IMPORTANT AUCKLAND UPDATE 📻
Alonso leaves Real Madrid after troubled seven months
AP • January 13th, 2026 8:31 am
Xabi Alonso | Photo: AP
Coach Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid a day after their 3-2 defeat by bitter rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup.
"Xabi Alonso will always have the love and admiration of all Real Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has represented the values of our club at all times. Real Madrid will always be his home," the club said in a statement on Tuesday (NZ time).
They added that second-team manager and former defender Alvaro Arbeloa will take over the first team job.
Real Madrid parted ways with Alonso a little more than seven months after appointing him, following a poor run of results in all competitions.
Former Real midfielder Alonso, who was handed a three-year contract in May after an impressive stint with Bayer Leverkusen, saw his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu quickly unravel.
The former Spain international had guided Leverkusen to a historic unbeaten campaign to win the Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season, along with a German Cup triumph and a Europa League final appearance, prompting Real to bring him back to the club as manager.
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However, Alonso's return failed to replicate the success of a fellow former Real Madrid midfielder, Zinedine Zidane, who famously led the club to three consecutive Champions League titles.
His tenure was marred by internal discord, with reports of clashes with senior players, including co-captain Federico Valverde and winger Vinicius Jr.
Real's poor performances under Alonso included humbling losses to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup, to Atletico Madrid in LaLiga, and Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League.
Arbeloa will take over the job immediately and will be on the sidelines on Wednesday as Real visit second-division side Albacete in a Copa del Rey round of 16 tie.
After leading LaLiga earlier in the season with a comfortable five-point advantage over old rivals Barcelona, Alonso's Real collapsed and are now second, four points behind last year's champions Barca.
Alonso's appointment was initially seen as a long-term project, but his dismissal signals the club's impatience with Real falling short of their high standards.
