Xabi Alonso has been named as Real Madrid's new head coach. Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
Xabi Alonso has been confirmed as Real Madrid's new head coach, taking over from Carlo Ancelotti for this summer's Club World Cup.
The 43-year-old, who made 236 appearances for Madrid as a player and began his coaching career at the club's academy, joins Madrid after an impressive three-year spell at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga.
Having put pen to paper on a three-year deal until June 2028, he will take charge of the team starting with next month's Club World Cup in the United States, ahead of the 2025-26 season and will be presented as Madrid coach on Monday.
"Alonso is one of the biggest legends of Real Madrid and world football. He defended our shirt in 236 official games between 2009 and 2014. He won six titles during this time: the 10th European Cup in Lisbon, one European Super Cup, one league title, two Spanish Cups and one Spanish Super Cup," the club said in a statement.
"Now he's returning to Real Madrid as one of the best coaches in the world after making history with Bayer Leverkusen," the club said.
Ancelotti leaves the Santiago Bernabéu after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign ended without a major trophy, missing out to Barcelona in LaLiga and the Copa del Rey, and being eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals.,
ESPN reported that Alonso has been Madrid's long-term, preferred target to take over from Ancelotti, and the Spanish giants have closely followed his progress at Leverkusen.
The former Spain international took over the Bundesliga side in October 2022 with the team languishing in the relegation zone. He transformed the team and led them to an unbeaten domestic double in 2024.
This season, he coached Leverkusen to second place in the Bundesliga, while in the Champions League, they were beaten by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
Alonso had a hugely successful career as a player, starring for Liverpool, Madrid and Bayern, as well as the Spain national team where he won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships.
An elegant midfielder, Alonso joined Madrid in August 2009, winning LaLiga and two Copa del Reys, before winning a Champions League medal -- coached by Ancelotti -- in 2014.
After retiring as a player in 2017, he began coaching at Madrid's academy, and then took a job with hometown club Real Sociedad's B-team, before joining Leverkusen.
Alonso will be tasked with rebuilding a Madrid team packed with star players such as Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham, but which has fallen short this season.
Ancelotti, who had been in the job since 2021, came under pressure after an underwhelming campaign ended with Madrid being beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Arsenal in the Champions League, losing the Copa del Rey final 3-2 to Barcelona, and being beaten to the title by the Catalan side.
Ancelotti said goodbye to fans after Madrid's last league game of the season on Saturday against Real Sociedad at the Bernabéu.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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