Xabi Alonso has been sacked as Real Madrid manager.
Newsone Nigeria reports that Spanish club giant, Real Madrid, has sacked its manager, Xabi Alonso, hours after losing 3-2 to Barcelona at the final of the King Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, January 11, 2026.
The club announced on its official X page on Monday, January 12, 2026.
It wrote, “Real Madrid C. F. wishes to announce that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his time as first team coach to an end.
“Xabi 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 Xabi 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.”
Newsone recalls that the club appointed the Spaniard to replace Carlo Ancelotti as coach, with the Spaniard to take over from June 1, 2025, and lead the team at the Club World Cup.
“Xabi Alonso will be the Real Madrid coach for the next three seasons, from June 1, 2025, until June 30, 2028,” said Real Madrid in a statement at the time.
Meanwhile, Madrid confirmed that the LaLiga club has announced in a separate statement that “Álvaro Arbeloa will be the new first team coach”.
The statement reads thus; “Real Madrid C. F. would like to announce that Álvaro Arbeloa will be the new first team coach.
“Álvaro Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025, and has spent his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s youth academy since 2020. He coached the Under-14s A in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the Under-16s in the 2021-2022 season and the Under-19s from 2022 to 2025. As coach of the Under-19s, he won the treble in the 2022-2023 season (League, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) and the League in the 2024-2025 season.
“As a player, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid in one of the most successful periods of its history. He defended our shirt between 2009 and 2016, in 238 official matches. During that time he won 8 trophies: 2 European Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 1 Uefa Super Cup, 1 LaLiga title, 2 Copa del Rey trophies and 1 Spanish Super Cup.
“With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was also part of a historic era, in which he won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2 European Championships (2008 and 2012). He was capped 56 times,” the statement added.
