Why was Alonso sacked by Real Madrid, and who’s their new manager Arbeloa?

Al JazeeraEN 6 min read 100% complete by Graham KeeleyJanuary 13, 2026 at 03:15 PM

AI Summary

long article 6 min

Xabi Alonso was sacked as Real Madrid's manager in January 2026 after only seven months in charge, despite having signed a three-year contract. The club cited "mutual consent" for his departure, replacing him with Alvaro Arbeloa, who was promoted from coaching the reserve team. Alonso's dismissal followed a string of poor results, including a Supercopa final loss to Barcelona. Other factors contributing to his sacking included a patchy performance in La Liga, a Champions League defeat against Liverpool, and apparent issues with club president Florentino Perez. The loss to Barcelona in a major final was considered a significant offense by Perez.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Liverpool 30% Celta Vigo 30% Jeddah 40% La Liga 40% Carlo Ancelotti 40% Saudi Arabia 40% Graham Hunter ×250% Florentino Perez ×260% Alvaro Arbeloa 70% Barcelona ×370% Xabi Alonso ×590% Real Madrid ×10100%

Keywords

xabi alonso 100% real madrid 100% manager sacking 90% alvaro arbeloa 80% football management 70% barcelona 70% supercopa final 60% florentino perez 50% la liga 50% football club 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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xabi alonso real madrid manager sacking alvaro arbeloa football management barcelona supercopa final florentino perez la liga football club

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