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Chelsea hired Xabi Alonso as manager on Sunday on a four-year deal starting with the beginning of next season, with the Spaniard returning to coaching after a short, rocky spell at Real Madrid and tasked with bringing stability to a club that has become dysfunctional under its new American ownership.
Alonso will formally take charge on 1 July as the replacement for Liam Rosenior, who was fired last month, and will become the fifth permanent coach appointed by Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital since they bought the Premier League team in 2022.
Alonso lasted just eight months at Real Madrid before leaving the Spanish giants by mutual consent in January after poor results and widespread media reports that he lost control of a locker room wracked by infighting and disharmony this season.
Before that, the former Spain midfielder had built a strong reputation at Bayer Leverkusen, which he led to the German title and an unbeaten domestic campaign in the 2023-24 season, and Chelsea described Alonso as “one of the most respected figures in the modern game.”
“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition,” Alonso said in a Chelsea statement. “We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.”
Without a domestic trophy for eight years, Chelsea was European champion as recently as 2021 and won the Club World Cup against most pundits’ expectations last summer in the United States, in the inaugural expanded format of the tournament.
However, Chelsea looks highly unlikely to be in next season’s Champions League and might miss out on European competition entirely after a huge dip in form in the second half of the campaign.
The club was guaranteed a trophyless season by losing to Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
“There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it,” Alonso said. “Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”
After an unseemly end to Rosenior’s turbulent tenure, Chelsea’s ownership said it would be undertaking “a process of self-reflection” ahead of its next coaching appointment, amid growing tension among supporters about the direction of the club and its massive financial concerns following years of heavy spending.
In the four years under Boehly and Clearlake, around $2.5 billion (€2.15 billion) has been spent on new, mostly young and unproven players on long-term contracts, while the club has taken on a debt approaching $2 billion (€1.72 billion).
Chelsea’s most recent financial results revealed the club made pre-tax losses of $350 million (€301.1 million), a record in the Premier League era.
It’s with this backdrop that Alonso — who has long been linked with a potential move to Liverpool, another of his former teams — heads to Chelsea, which he described as “one of the biggest clubs in world football.”
“His appointment,” Chelsea said, “reflects the club’s belief in his broad set of experiences, coaching quality and game model, leadership attributes, character and integrity, which were key to the decision to ask him to help lead the next phase of Chelsea’s journey.
“He is regarded not only as an outstanding football coach, but also as a proven leader and partner across a number of areas essential to the demands of driving the team.”
In the interim, Calum McFarlane will continue to lead the Blues for its two remaining Premier League fixtures, against London rivals Tottenham Hotspurs on Tuesday and Sunderland on the last match day of the season on 24 May.
Additional sources • AP