Several Premier League sides, including Manchester United, are on alert after Real Madrid surprisingly sacked Xabi Alonso on Monday.
Alonso departs the Santiago Bernabeu less than 24 hours after Real lost the Spanish Super Cup final 3-2 to Barcelona.
He only replaced Carlo Ancelotti as head coach seven months ago and leaves with Los Blancos second in the La Liga table, just four points behind their El Clasico rivals.
The legendary Spain midfielder enjoyed a good start upon his return to Madrid but the team’s form dipped over the winter, winning seven of the last 14 games across all competitions.
More pressingly, the 44-year-old had a tense relationship with several key players including Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, with the latter unwilling to commit his future to Real while Alonso was in the dugout.
‘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,’ a club statement read on Monday evening.
‘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 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.’
Less than an hour later, Real announced that Alvaro Arbeloa, the club’s reserve team manager, would be the new first-team head coach, but it is not clear if this is on a permanent basis or just till the end of the season.
While no doubt painful, Alonso’s reputation has not diminished, with the former Liverpool, Real and Bayern Munich midfielder highly-regarded across Europe.
In 2023/24, he guided Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten league and cup double, losing just one of their 53 games that season, namely the Europa League final.
He was strongly linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield before they appointed Arne Slot and will no doubt be the favourite for the Liverpool job if the Dutchman were to leave anytime soon.
The Times report that Manchester City could also look at Alonso as a replacement for Pep Guardiola when he departs the Etihad. The Spaniard played under Guardiola during his time in Munich.
And it is said that despite his strong connection to arch-rivals Liverpool, Alonso will be of interest to Manchester United as they look for a permanent replacement for Ruben Amorim.
Michael Carrick has reportedly agreed to take the reins at Old Trafford after Amorim was sacked last week and Darren Fletcher failed to win his two matches as interim boss.
But the former United midfielder is only expected to sign on until the summer, with the Red Devils looking at a wide variety of candidates for the start of next season.
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