Xabi Alonso is gone after just seven months in charge at Real Madrid and the board have some explaining to do. The Spanish coach was relieved of his duties on Monday (January 12th) after Los Blancos suffered a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed Alonso's departure and revealed that Alvaro Arbeloa has replaced him. It's a shocking development given reports suggested Florentino Perez was willing to back the former Bayer Leverkusen coach.
Alonso had endured a difficult season with Madrid trailing Barca in the La Liga title race. There were several dissapointing performances and results but he was tasked with replacing Carlo Ancelotti and building a new team at the Estadio Bernabeu.
Alonso leaves Madrid
Romano confirmed that Alonso had left Madrid with "immediate effect" and the club also released an announcement on their website. It read:
"Real Madrid CF announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his time as first team coach.
Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.
Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time, and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives."
Official Announcement: Xabi Alonso.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 12, 2026
Alonso oversaw 34 games as Madrid manager, guiding his side to 24 wins and six defeats. Los Blancos sit second in La Liga, four points behind leaders Barca.
Alonso and Madrid make wrong decision
Alonso's return to the Bernabeu was heralded at the time as he was highly sought-after. Liverpool were keen to have the Spaniard replace Jurgen Klopp but he chose to stay at Leverkusen for a year before agreeing to succeed Ancelotti.
While it's been a frustrating past few months, it feels extremely rash for both parties to decide to separate after such a brief period in charge. This would be different if his side were way off their El Clasico rivals in the title race and enduring dismal form.
The defeat to Barca was the first of 2026 and followed wins over Real Betis (5-1) and Atletico Madrid (2-1). Los Merengues were second best in the Supercopa final but Alonso was still implementing his ideas and building a team in his image.
Perez and the board should have given Alonso more support, whose job was constantly on the line after replacing Ancelotti. But Madrid are never second best, and that's ultimately led to the Spanish tactician paying the price.
Arbeloa is the man tasked with getting the players focused on the rest of the season. He makes the step up from his role as Madrid Castilla manager having been in charge of that team since July 2025.