It’s settled: Xabi Alonso is Real Madrid’s next coach, according to international media reports on Friday. All sources confirmed that the current Bayer Leverkusen coach had reached a final agreement with the club’s officials.
Since Real Madrid’s European exit at the hands of Arsenal, which made it certain that Carlo Ancelotti would leave the club, Los Blancos have been linked with several coaches to succeed the Italian, most notably Red Bull Group CEO Jürgen Klopp.
Ultimately, Madrid president Florentino Pérez decided to sign Alonso, who has been considered one of the most prominent young coaches in the world over the past two years, to lead Real Madrid’s project and put the team back on the right track.
Real Madrid Agrees with Alonso
According to Marca, negotiations have taken place in recent days between Real Madrid officials and Alonso, leading to a final agreement on all the details.
The Spanish coach will sign a three-year contract, until the summer of 2028, as Real Madrid’s coach. He will move to the Santiago Bernabéu with the entire technical staff he worked with at Leverkusen, including the physical trainer, marking the end of the Antonio Pintus era in Madrid.
There were no problems in the negotiations; the salary was agreed upon during the first meeting between the two parties, and Alonso accepted the management’s conditions, most importantly that he would play a role in new signings. However, the final decision always rests with Florentino Pérez and his team.
🚨⚪️ Xabi Alonso, prepared to say yes to Real Madrid and then complete his move as soon as the exit process with Ancelotti will be finalised.
Bayer are accelerating the process to find a new head coach with talks to progress as they’re now expecting Xabi to leave. pic.twitter.com/jYqcIdEaew
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 9, 2025
Alonso Could Coach Real Madrid in the 2025 Club World Cup
There are disagreements among sources regarding Alonso’s position on coaching Real Madrid in the 2025 Club World Cup, although the idea seems highly likely at the moment.
Previous reports from Relevo revealed that Alonso prefers to take over next season, believing the players are exhausted and therefore unable to make a quick impact at the 2025 Club World Cup.
However, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano indicates that Alonso is ready to coach Real Madrid immediately after Ancelotti’s departure, suggesting he has changed his mind and may coach Los Blancos in the upcoming World Cup.
Ancelotti’s departure is expected to be announced after El Clásico. He will remain in his position until May 25, when Real Madrid’s final La Liga match is against Real Sociedad. After that, either Alonso or Santiago Solari will take over temporarily until the end of the World Cup.
Alonso informs Leverkusen of his departure
Meanwhile, Sky Sports confirmed that Alonso informed Bayer Leverkusen’s management that he will leave at the end of this season to fulfill his dream of coaching Real Madrid.
Alonso’s contract with the German club runs until the end of next season. However, Leverkusen officials, due to a previous amicable agreement, will not stand in the way of the coach’s move to the Spanish capital and realizing his dream. They have already begun searching for a new coach to succeed him at the BayArena.
However, it should be noted that Real Madrid will have to pay a sum of money to terminate Alonso’s contract early, with reports of a figure ranging between 10 and 20 million euros. Negotiations between the two clubs are not expected to be difficult in this regard.
