Manager Xabi Alonso is under enormous pressure at the Bernabéu.
Real Madrid have lined up a successor internally to replace Xabi Alonso if the Bernabéu club chooses to sack him.
Xabi Alonso is a former Real Madrid player, who joined the club in 2009 for a transfer fee of £30 million, and he won La Liga and the Champions League during his time in the Spanish capital.
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He ended his playing career in 2017 after three consecutive Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and began a coaching career with Real Sociedad B. After joining Leverkusen in mid-2022, Alonso won the Bundesliga, German Cup and German Super Cup at BayArena, and also led the team to second place behind Atalanta in the same season’s Europa League.
After his success on the coaching bench in Germany, Alonso replaced Carlo Ancelotti at Real in the summer and signed a three-year contract.
Currently in La Liga, Real are in second place in the table and are four points behind leaders Barcelona, while Los Blancos are currently seventh in the group table of the Champions League after six games, meaning they still stay in the automatic qualification places for the next round.
However, Alonso is under pressure to keep his job at the Santiago Bernabéu, and more pressure came after a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Cadena Ser reports that Álvaro Arbeloa, who is currently in charge of Real Madrid Castilla, could be on his way to becoming Real’s next manager if Alonso leaves the club.
When asked about this possibility before the away game against Alavés on Sunday evening, Alonso said: “In the future, I have no doubt that he could become a coach, but as for the question [of taking over his position], we have not discussed it.”
Xabi Alonso has 24 hours
But the publication also reports that the Real management will replace Alonso with Arbeloa if they fail to get three points against Alavés away at the Estadio de Mendizorroza on Sunday
Arbeloa was a right-back in his playing career and was a teammate of Alonso’s at both Liverpool and Real.
The pair were also teammates on the Spanish national team during the country’s golden age of football success, winning two European Championships and the World Cup together.
Arbeloa became the boss of Real Madrid Castilla in the summer, replacing Real and Spain legend Raúl.
