Chelsea hire Alonso as the new head coach on 4-year contract

Chelsea have hired ex-Liverpool star Xabi Alonso as their new boss on a 4-year deal, beginning in July.

Xabi has been without a job since leaving Real Madrid at the beginning of the calendar year, less than a year into a 3-year deal. The manager previously led Bayer Leverkusen for 3 years as he won the debut Bundesliga for the German club in 2024, as well as the DFB Pokal.

The news about the appointment of the Spaniard came less than 24 hours after Chelsea were defeated by Man City in the FA Cup final.

The west London club hopes that Alonso will bring stability to the side after they had 2 permanent head coaches in the current campaign – Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior – while Calum McFarlane is in his 2nd spell as interim manager, leading the team in their final 2 EPL matches.

Xabi won 24 of his 34 games as the head coach of Real Madrid, but despite that, the Spaniard didn’t even finish a full season at the helm of Los Blancos, his reputation as a manager remains high despite that.

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Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Xabi Alonso as Manager of the Men’s Team.

The Spaniard will begin his role on July 1, 2026, having agreed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

Welcome to Chelsea, Xabi!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 17, 2026