Xabi Alonso, ex-Real Madrid, arrives at Chelsea to begin coaching for the 2026/27 season By Thiago Lemos
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Chelsea have confirmed their new coaching staff for the 2026/27 season. Xabi Alonso, ex-Real Madrid, arrived at Stamford Bridge this Thursday, July 9, 2026, to complete the signing of the contract and begin his activities. The coach’s official announcement had already taken place in May, and now he had his first contact with the squad.
Aged 44, Alonso has been available on the market since leaving Real Madrid in January. This will be his third experience as a professional coach. Before his time at Real, he had a notable performance at Bayer Leverkusen, where he achieved an unbeaten record in the Bundesliga and won the German Cup in the 2023/24 season, a feat that catapulted him as one of the most promising names in Europe.
At Chelsea, Xabi Alonso will face the challenge of “rebuilding” the team, which performed below expectations in the previous season. This period was the first after winning the Club World Cup. The London club went through three different commanders in 2025/26: Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and interim Calum McFarlane.
Despite reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the English League Cup, Chelsea were defeated by Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final last Saturday. The club currently occupies ninth place in the Premier League.
Xabi Alonso quickly established himself as one of the most respected coaches on the European scene, driven by his success at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the unprecedented Bundesliga title in 2024. After that campaign, he took over Real Madrid shortly before the 2025 Club World Cup, remaining in charge of the Spanish team until December of the same year.
