Madrid sack Alonso after Barca defeat

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Real Madrid have agreed to part ways with Xabi Alonso after a humiliating Super Cup defeat to arch rivals Barcelona.

A day after the team lost the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, the club parted ways with the Basque coach eight months after his arrival and immediately appointed former Madrid player Arbeloa, who was coaching the reserve side.

“Real Madrid announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his tenure as first-team coach to an end,” said the Los Blancos in a statement.

In a separate statement Madrid then announced Arbeloa would take Alonso’s place, without specifying the length of the 42-year-old’s contract.

“Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025 and has developed his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s academy since 2020,” said Los Blancos.

Arbeloa’s first match at the helm is a Copa del Rey last-16 visit to face second-tier Albacete on Wednesday.

Alonso joined Los Blancos from Bayer Leverkusen prior to the 2025/26 season, replacing legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti.

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After a sensational start to the campaign that saw Madrid climb to the top of the La Liga table, a dramatic shift in results and performances on the pitch has seen  the 44-year-old fired just seven months into his three year contract.

Barcelona are four points clear at the top of the La Liga table and are favourites to claim back-to-back titles under Hansi Flick, while Madrid’s form has fallen off a cliff since October 2025.

Alonso was close to the sack towards the end of 2025 but a run of five consecutive wins kept him in his position, until the Super Cup defeat.

Alonso had signed a three-season deal after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, until June 2028.

The team were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in July in the Club World Cup semi-finals, which was an early setback for the coach.

Despite a Clasico win over Barcelona in October, it appeared president Florentino Perez had not fully warmed to Alonso, who had intended to bring a modern coaching approach to the team.

The team struggled through a run of poor form amid an injury crisis, with Spanish media reporting some players had fallen out with him and that Alonso would be ousted if they failed to beat Manchester City in the Champions League in December.

Madrid lost but the performance was solid enough that Alonso was given more time to try and save his job.

However, the defeat by Barca in Jeddah was the final straw for Madrid, who agreed a deal with Alonso for him to depart.

– AFP

Photo: Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images

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Dylan Johnson