🚨 BREAKING: Chelsea confirm appointment of Xabi Alonso | OneFootball

Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Xabi Alonso as their new head coach, having parted ways with Liam Rosenior at the end of April.

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the London club's narrow FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

Alonso will officially take charge at Stamford Bridge on July 1, meaning interim Calum McFarlane will oversee their final two Premier League games against Tottenham and Sunderland next week.

The Spaniard previously coached at Real Madrid but was dismissed by the La Liga giants after less than eight months in charge.

Prior to that, he worked in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and guided them to their first league title in history.

On his appointment, Alonso told Chelsea's club website: "Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.

"From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies."

📸 FADEL SENNA - AFP or licensors