Xabi Alonso has agreed to become Chelsea’s next permanent manager on a four-year contract.
News of Alonso’s impending appointment broke shortly after Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Caretaker Callum MacFarlane was in charge until the end of the season and was in the dugout at Wembley.
Chelsea, currently ninth in the Premier League, are looking for a new head coach after sacking Liam Rosenior in April after just three months in the role.
Former Real Madrid manager Alonso is Chelsea’s number one takeover target and an announcement could be made as early as Monday.
The former Liverpool midfielder’s signing had fueled speculation about a possible return to Anfield amid manager Arne Slott’s struggles, but the Dutchman is expected to remain in charge.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola and Fulham manager Marco Silva are also on Chelsea’s shortlist. Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, Como’s Cesc Fabregas and former Flamengo manager Felipe Luis were also considered.
However, the Blues moved to sign Alonso, who won the Champions League twice as a player and led Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title in his first season as manager in 2023/24.
Chelsea are waiting for the FA Cup final to conclude successfully before making an official announcement, which could come as early as Monday.
Chelsea want to add experience to squad this summer
Alonso linked to Chelsea’s summer transfer plans
Alonso is out of a job after being sacked by Real Madrid in January, seven months into his role.
He will be involved in Chelsea’s summer transfer business, along with previous managers at the club. Chelsea are looking to add experience to their squad this summer by signing several first-team players who can play immediately.
Chelsea could miss out on European football next season for the second time in their BlueCo era after losing to City in the FA Cup final.
An eighth place finish would secure a place in the Conference League, while a sixth or seventh place could qualify for the Europa League, although this is unlikely.
Chelsea currently sit ninth in the Premier League with one point from their last seven games.
Alonso becomes the fifth permanent appointment under BlueCo ownership, following Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosenior.
Leverkusen’s invincible season, highlights of Alonso’s young coaching resume
Rich Morgan of Sky Sports:
Alonso, who retired in 2017 after an 18-year, trophy-laden career with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain, began his coaching career coaching Los Blancos’ Under-14s.
The Basque player then spent three years with the Real Sociedad B team before taking charge of Bayer Leverkusen, who are second to the bottom of the Bundesliga, in October 2022, leading them to a sixth-place finish and a place in the Europa League semi-finals.
Xabi Alonso lifts Bundesliga trophy after unbeaten season
In their first full season at BayArena, Leverkusen, playing in a 3-4-3 formation, went unbeaten throughout the season and won their first-ever Bundesliga, setting a new European record with 51 games unbeaten in all competitions along the way, and also winning a league and cup double.
However, Alonso left Leverkusen in the 2024-25 season after only finishing runners-up with Bayern Munich, and was appointed Madrid manager in May of the same year, replacing Carlo Ancelotti on a three-year contract.
Leverkusen achieve their first domestic double in the German Cup
His tenure at the Bernabéu began with a defeat to PSG in the semi-finals of the inaugural Club World Cup that summer, and although he beat Barcelona 2-1 in late October to move five points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga, a high-profile falling out with star man Vinicius Junior led to a slump in results, which led to his early departure in January.
“Statement released before summer of rebuilding”
Speaking at Wembley, Sky Sports News reporter James Cole said:
Chelsea and Alonso have agreed to a four-year contract after weeks of talks.
He was always the number one target on the three-man shortlist.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ James Cole reports from Wembley that Manchester City defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
They managed to resolve the issues in the agreement and there is now an agreement in place.
He claims that Chelsea’s hierarchical atmosphere could calm the storm that has gripped Chelsea in recent weeks in terms of the disconnect between fans, owners and their business models.
An official announcement could be made as early as Monday, and it is seen as a very positive announcement ahead of a summer in which Chelsea need a major rebuild.
Your opinion: ‘The best appointment Chelsea could have made’
Nathan: As a Chelsea fan, I’ve been critical of BlueCo, but they deserve a lot of credit for pulling this off. Welcome to Chelsea, Xabi Alonso.
Dan O: Alonso is without a doubt Chelsea’s best addition. The only question is whether the board and sporting director will learn their lesson and relinquish control…
JP: Why did FSG allow this to happen?! Fair play to Chelsea for signing him, we had a chance to sign him but instead we stick to the slot which is outside the depth and set us back.
Levy V: I am very happy with this appointment, given my work at Leverkusen. Let this guy do his job and Chelsea will be back in business.
F20GHT: I think it’s a great appointment, but are Chelsea going to bring in some experienced players and stop blaming the manager when things go wrong? Just buying players for the ‘future’ is no longer enough.
Shanepancho778: As a lifelong Liverpool fan, I’m really disappointed to hear this news. To be honest, I thought it was inevitable that Slot would be gone at the end of the season and Alonso would be brought in right away and spend a full preseason. He will never manage Liverpool now.
