Chelsea have appointed Xabi Alonso as their new manager on a four-year contract starting in July, the English Premier League club said yesterday as they tasked the Spaniard with reviving their fortunes after a turbulent and trophy-less season.
The 44-year-old Spaniard’s appointment comes a day after Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup final, ending the London club’s hopes of salvaging a disappointing campaign with silverware.
Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club,” Alonso said.
“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition.”
Alonso will look to steady the ship after a turbulent season in which the club dismissed two managers – Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, with the latter sacked in April after a run of seven defeats in eight matches across all competitions.
With two Premier League games left, Chelsea are ninth in the table although still have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe. Current caretaker manager Calum McFarlane will continue in his role until the end of the season.
“We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies,” Alonso said.
He joins a group of Spanish managers in the Premier League – City’s Pep Guardiola, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola.
The move also marks a return to English football for Alonso, who racked up 210 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009 and later ending his playing career with Bayern Munich in 2017.
He rose to prominence as a manager at Bayer Leverkusen, where he took charge in 2022 and guided the club to a historic unbeaten Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 campaign, along with the German Cup and a run to the Europa League final.
That success earned him a return to Real Madrid as head coach, though his spell was reportedly affected by internal tensions.
He was sacked by Madrid in January, less than eight months after taking charge.
REUTERS
