Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid Part Ways After Loss to Barcelona in Super Cup Final, New Manager Named

Real Madrid announced Monday that it reached a mutual agreement with manager Xabi Alonso to part ways.

The club announced in its statement that Alonso "will always carry the affection and admiration of all Madridistas because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home. We would like to thank Alonso and all his coaching staff for their hard work and dedication throughout this time, and wish them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives."

He is being replaced by Real Madrid Castilla manager Álvaro Arbeloa.

While top European clubs often are quick to move on from managers, Alonso's dismissal was particularly fast, coming after just half a season. Real Madrid currently sit second on La Liga's table, just four points behind Barcelona, though their hated rivals did beat them 3-2 in Sunday's Supercopa final.

But Real Madrid have also fared generally well in the Champions League this season, with 12 points from six matches. That puts them in solid position to clinch one of the eight automatic berths to the knockout stage.

And Los Blancos struggled in November and December. More importantly, however, Alonso may not have had the support of a number of key players in the locker room.

According to  Mario Cortegana, Colin Millar and Dermot Corrigan of The Athletic, "Although the board does not believe Alonso is solely to blame for the situation, they are unhappy with the team's image and recent results. Furthermore, there was concern that a significant part of the dressing room did not have a good connection with the coach and his ideas."

Namely, Vinícius Júnior reportedly told the club in November he wouldn't renew his contract given a strained relationship with Alonso. But The Athletic added that "several first-team players [are] unhappy with [Alonso's] management and the way he has imposed several important changes since arriving in the summer."

Managing Real Madrid is a complicated endeavor. Talent is rarely an issue, but plenty of egos exist in that training room, while expectations from fans and the club's board are always sky high. Alonso had enormous success at Bayer Leverkusen, leading the club to an unbeaten Bundesliga campaign and title in the 2023-24 campaign, but he was clearly never the right fit for Los Blancos.