Xabi Alonso named Chelsea head coach after winter Real Madrid dismissal | OneFootball

Chelsea have appointed Xabi Alonso as head coach on a four-year deal starting one July, the club said in a statement on Sunday. The Spaniard is 44.

Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester City and sit ninth, outside the European places, with two league matches remaining.

The Blues parted with Italian Enzo Maresca in early January, then Englishman Liam Rosenior in April. Calum McFarlane stepped in as caretaker on both occasions.

Alonso was dismissed by Real Madrid in January, eight months after joining Kylian Mbappé's side in summer 2025.

As Bayer Leverkusen coach he delivered the club's first Bundesliga title in 2023-2024 without a defeat, and also won the German Cup.

He becomes Chelsea's sixth permanent appointment since BlueCo took control in May 2022, following Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Maresca and Rosenior.

As a player he starred for Liverpool, winning the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan, and later lifted the trophy with Real Madrid in 2014.

Source: Le Progres