A day after Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final against arch-rivals Barcelona, Los Blancos parted ways with Xabi Alonso and replaced him with Alvaro Arbeloa. The 42-year-old former Spain and Real Madrid full-back
was appointed as the new first-team head coach on Monday (January 12).
Arbeloa, who played a total of 237 matches for Real Madrid from 2009 to 2016, was coaching the reserve side.
“Real Madrid CF announces that Álvaro Arbeloa is the new first-team coach,” Real Madrid said in a statement.
“Álvaro Arbeloa has been the manager of Castilla since June 2025 and has spent his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s youth academy since 2020. He managed the Infantil A team in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the Cadete A team in 2021-2022, and the Juvenil A team from 2022 to 2025. As Juvenil A manager, he achieved the treble in 2022-2023 (League, Copa del Rey, and Champions Cup) and the League title in the 2024-2025 season,” the statement added.
Comunicado Oficial: Álvaro Arbeloa.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) January 12, 2026
As a player, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid during one of their most successful periods in history. He wore the Real Madrid shirt between 2009 and 2016 and made 238 official appearances. During that time, he won eight titles — two Champions Leagues, one Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one La Liga title, two Copa del Rey trophies, and one Spanish Super Cup.
With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and two European Championships (2008 and 2012).
Apart from Real, Arbeloa also played in the Premier League for Liverpool FC and West Ham FC and in La Liga for Deportivo.
He played a total of 98 matches in all competitions for the Merseyside club in England and scored two goals in three seasons.
Sad end for Xabi
Alonso joined Real Madrid as manager in June 2025, replacing Carlo Ancelotti, but Real struggled to find consistency under him and are second in La Liga, four points behind Barcelona.
Alonso was close to the sack towards the end of 2025, but a run of five consecutive wins kept him in his position until the Super Cup defeat.
Alonso had signed a three-season deal after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, until June 2028.
