Xabi Alonso parts ways with Real Madrid as head coach following Spanish Super Cup final loss against Barcelona

Xabi Alonso quit as Real Madrid head coach on Monday after just seven months in charge of the iconic Spanish club. The former Madrid midfielder’s exit, albeit by mutual consent, as the club’s head coach comes a day after the 15-time European champions suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of El Clasico rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The club has named Alvaro Arbeloa, who has been coaching Madrid’s B team since June last year and has also spent considerable time working with the club’s academy, as Alonso’s replacement.

‘Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans’

An official statement from the club released on Monday claimed that Alonso and parted ways with ‘Los Blancos’ via “mutual agreement”.

“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.

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“Our club thanks 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,” the club added in its statement.

Comunicado Oficial: Xabi Alonso.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) January 12, 2026

Madrid are second on the LaLiga table, four points behind Barcelona, a little over halfway into the season and are also seventh on the UEFA Champions League table.

The 44-year-old, who had a stellar five-year run with the club as a player after spending as much time with Premier League giants Liverpool, had replaced Carlo Ancelotti as Madrid manager in May last year, with the Italian having left for the Brazil national team at the end of the season.

Ancelotti’s second stint at Santiago Bernabeu had ended with the club missing out on the LaLiga title after finishing four points behind Barca. Their Champions League title defence had also ended in the quarter-finals with a 1-5 aggreggate defeat against Arsenal.

Alonso had also enjoyed a successful three-year spell with Bayer Leverkusen, during which he helped the German club complete a league and cup double in the 2023-24 season. He also linked to Liverpool, the club he had represented for five years as a player, as a candidate to replace Jurgn Klopp as manager, but opted to extend his stay with Leverkusen before saying yes to an offer from Madrid.

How Alonso fared as Madrid coach

Alonso leaves Madrid with a win percentage of 71 – the best among those who have managed the 36-time champions over the last decade.

His tenure at Santiago Bernabeu was off to a shaky start with Madrid suffering a 0-4 thrashing at the hands of reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals in the United States.

Madrid made a quick recovery from the lopsided thrashing against PSG by winning 13 of their next 14 matches, which included a 2-1 victory over Barca in the season’s first Clasico.

Things, however, started going downhill for him again following his team’s Champions League defeat against Liverpool – a team that had been struggling themselves at the time – at Anfield on 4 November. The axe was then hanging over his head following a 2-1 loss against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the same competition a month later.

Alonso briefly revived his team’s form with a five-game winning streak, but Sunday’s defeat against Barcelona proved to be the last straw. Madrid president Florentino Perez, after all, had not fully warmed to his methods and was reportedly already on the lookout for other options.