Few players have a CV to match Xabi Alonso’s. Not only did he win multiple trophies at three of Europe’s biggest clubs — Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich — but he also anchored the midfield in Spain‘s golden era, winning the FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships.
He was coached by some of this century’s elite managers: Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho and Rafa Benítez. Everybody loved playing with Alonso: former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has called him “royalty” and “the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.”
Now, less than three years into his career as a top-level coach, Alonso is leaving Bayer Leverkusen to return to Real Madrid, the most pressurized job in world football. He does so having made his name by winning the 2023-24 Bundesliga title without losing a single game and with an exciting, intense and effective style of play. In other words, he’s earned it.
“Xabi is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” Spain forward Borja Iglesias, who was part of Leverkusen’s title-winning squad, told ESPN. That sentiment is shared by everyone ESPN spoke with who has worked with Alonso during his short but successful coaching career, shedding light on how he has risen so rapidly to the ranks of the game’s top managers.
Ancelotti has tried all season, making a number of switches — the most effective being an out-of-possession 4-4-2, with Bellingham and Rodrygo helping out in midfield — without sustained success. This is an inviting opportunity for a coach with clear tactical ideas, and a strong personality and mandate to enforce them.
Sources told ESPN that Alonso was keen to take charge of the team ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup as it would give him more time with the players to implement his ideas ahead of the 2025-26 season. There is just over a month between the end of the Club World Cup on July 13 and the likely start date for the next LaLiga campaign.
The challenges are considerable. Mbappé and Vini Jr., two players who prefer the left of the attack, must comprise an effective front two. There are already signs of this: Mbappé’s hat trick in Madrid’s 4-3 loss to Barcelona on May 11 included two goals assisted by Vini Jr. But the pair’s off-the-ball work — famously, they are the two outfield players who have spent most time walking in LaLiga this season — must be addressed.
There is the issue of Bellingham, whose stellar debut season has been followed by a more difficult follow-up. Bellingham scored 19 league goals in 2023-24, but only eight in 2024-25. He still plays with protective strapping on a shoulder he dislocated in November 2023. At some point, the question of whether the midfielder needs surgery will have to be addressed.
And then there is Rodrygo, who sources have told ESPN has grown tired of being used as a makeweight in attack and wants to be picked on the left wing, where he feels he is most effective. Rodrygo’s entourage have made this clear to club president Florentino Pérez; it remains to be seen if Alonso will grant his wish. Rodrygo wants to hear from the new coach before taking any decisions on his future.
Further back, the midfield needs work, but it’s not yet clear if that will mean new signings. Sources have told ESPN that figures within the club believe in the potential of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga, although neither has yet made a midfield position their own, and the team has continued to rely this season on 39-year-old Luka Modric with 25 starts in all competitions. Modric, the club captain, is out of contract this summer.
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Marcotti: Huijsen’s £50m transfer clause ‘like a free transfer’
Gab Marcotti talks about Dean Huijsen’s reported transfer to Real Madrid from Bournemouth.
The team’s vulnerability at the back this season is an issue, with 38 goals conceded in LaLiga so far, the highest tally since 2019. Sources have told ESPN that an acceptance that both quality and numbers are needed in defense. Only the timing of Alexander-Arnold’s arrival needs to be finalized, while Madrid have already announced the signing of Spain center-back Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth. They are keen to sign a left-back, and sources have told ESPN they have looked at bringing in Benfica‘s Álvaro Carreras, although his potential transfer fee is higher than Madrid would like.
So Alonso will already have an improved squad to work with. Sources have told ESPN that Ancelotti was keen for the squad to be strengthened last summer, and in January, but he wasn’t heeded; Alonso will receive the reinforcements his predecessor did not. And the Club World Cup, while arriving sooner than Alonso might like, gives him an early opportunity — in a competitive environment, but with less pressure than he’d face in a more established tournament — to deliver results and tangible signs of progress.
Madrid presents a unique challenge; nowhere are expectations higher, and this season has laid bare a team with deep, structural flaws. “He’s got a lot of work to do,” García said. “[It’s been] a very tough year. With all the injuries, who’s going to come back in good condition? Militão has had two ACL [tears], Carvajal isn’t getting any younger. They are two pillars of the team, two leaders, and you need them. Will Madrid and Florentino Pérez allow him to build his team the way Leverkusen did, deciding which players will arrive, and the system to be played?”
But speaking to people who know and have worked with Alonso, the consensus is that he has the coaching abilities to succeed. “He has the ability to analyze and prepare for games, but he also has the ability to get through to players,” Celta Vigo and Spain forward Borja Iglesias, who spent six months on loan at Leverkusen told ESPN. “He has huge charisma … Above all, we connected as people. He helped me to be myself. I think he’s one of the great coaches I’ve had in my career.”
And, perhaps more importantly, his history with Real Madrid means he knows what awaits him when he takes over at the Bernabéu. “He knows the environment, he knows the press, he knows the director [of football], he knows the president,” Benítez said. “So I think he has this great experience that will help in the way that he will manage the team.” — AK
ESPN’s Spain reporter Rodrigo Faez, commentator Derek Rae and German football writer Constantin Eckner contributed to this report
