Xabi Alonso Officially Becomes New Manager of Chelsea

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso. (X/@ChelseaFC)

XABI ALONSO has officially become Chelsea's new manager. Alonso, who has a four-year contract, will take charge of the Blues on July 1, 2026 or when the 2026 World Cup is still underway.

Chelsea's success in signing Alonso who was unemployed after being dismissed by Real Madrid remains a surprise. The reason is that Alonso has been said to replace Arne Slot as Liverpool manager. Moreover, Liverpool has indeed been eyeing his former player when he was still designing Bayer Leverkusen.

At that time, Liverpool competed with Real Madrid. Only Alonso chose to stay at Leverkusen and then move to Madrid at the start of the 2025/2026 season. However, Alonso, who was also a pillar of Madrid, was eventually fired after the team lost to Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Liverpool got Slot from Feyenoord to replace Juergen Klopp. Slot's arrival at Anfield was a success because Liverpool won the English Premier League.

It's just that this season Liverpool is in a slump and is threatened to fail to appear in the Champions League after losing 4-2 to Aston Villa so that the issue of Slot being dismissed circulated. His position is said to be taken over by Alonso. However, Liverpool has retained Slot for next season's competition.

But if Chelsea eventually signed Alonso, it still came as a surprise. The reason is that the West London club originally wanted Cesc Fabregas, who successfully managed Como 1907.

In addition, a number of names such as Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth), Oliver Glasner who managed to raise the achievements of Crystal Palace and Marco Silva (Fulham) have been rumored to handle Chelsea.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, quoted by The Sun, Chelsea has already met with Alonso. Even the negotiations went smoothly and there were no obstacles at all because Chelsea hopes to have a manager before the 2026 World Cup.

Both parties agreed and Alonso got a four-year contract. The decision was made shortly after Chelsea failed in the FA Cup final. The team managed by interim manager Calum McFarlane lost 1-0 to Manchester City.

"The Spanish coach will start his duties on July 1, 2026. He has agreed to a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge," Chelsea said in a statement on the club's website.

"His character and integrity are key to leading Chelsea's next phase of the journey," Chelsea wrote.

Meanwhile, Alonso admitted that he was proud to have the opportunity to manage Chelsea, which he called 'one of the biggest clubs in world football'.

"Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football, and it is a great pride for me to be the manager of this great club," Alonso said.

"From conversations with the owners and sports directors, it is clear that we have the same ambition. We want to build a team that can consistently compete at the highest level and aspire to compete for trophies," he said.

"This squad has many talented players and they have great potential. It's an honor for me to be able to handle this team. Now, we are focused on working hard and building the right culture to win trophies," he said again.

Alonso was successful at Leverkusen even though he failed in Madrid. He led Leverkusen to win the German Bundesliga. This is the first time in the club's history, Leverkusen won the league trophy. The 44-year-old also led Leverkusen to win the German Cup and the German Super Cup.

Alonso, who failed in the Europa League final after Leverkusen were beaten by Atalanta, will take charge of Chelsea on July 1, 2026, while the 2026 World Cup is still going on.

Thus, the squad is still incomplete because some players strengthen the national team that competes in the World Cup. Alonso was also given the opportunity to recruit two or three experienced players to add strength to the team.