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Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso arsenic the club’s manager connected Sunday (May 17, 2026) connected a four-year woody from adjacent season, with the Spaniard the latest manager tasked with turning astir the club’s fortunes.
The Blues mislaid the FA Cup last to Manchester City connected Saturday (May 16, 2026) and prevarication ninth successful the Premier League with 2 games of the run to go.
Alonso roseate to prominence arsenic 1 of Europe’s brightest coaches by guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German league and cupful treble successful the 2023/24 season.
However, helium lasted conscionable 7 months successful the Real Madrid hotseat. Appointed past year, helium departed the Spanish giants successful January.
“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to denote the assignment of Xabi Alonso arsenic manager of the men’s team,” Chelsea said successful a statement.
“The Spaniard volition statesman his relation connected July 1, 2026, having agreed a four-year declaration astatine Stamford Bridge.”
Alonso faces a immense task to get Chelsea backmost successful the moving for large honours.
Chelsea did triumph the Club World Cup and the UEFA Conference League past twelvemonth but person small other to amusement for good implicit 1 cardinal pounds ($1.35 billion) of spending connected players since U.S. consortium BlueCo took implicit successful 2022 pursuing Roman Abramovich’s trophy-laden ownership of the club.
Defeat astatine Wembley connected Saturday (May 16, 2026) means they person present gone 8 seasons without a home trophy.
‘Great talent’
“Chelsea is 1 of the biggest clubs successful satellite shot and it fills maine with immense pridefulness to go manager of this large club,” said Alonso.
“From my conversations with the ownership radical and sporting leadership, it is wide we stock the aforesaid ambition. We privation to physique a squad susceptible of competing consistently astatine the highest level and warring for trophies.
“There is large endowment successful the squad and immense imaginable astatine this shot nine and it volition beryllium my large honour to pb it. Now the absorption is connected hard work, gathering the close civilization and winning trophies.”
Fans person continuously protested against BlueCo, who person embarked connected a scattergun attack to hoovering up young endowment from crossed the globe.
That argumentation has secured immoderate notable successes specified arsenic England planetary Cole Palmer.
But a deficiency of acquisition successful some the playing squad and the coaching unit has been blamed for a deficiency of consistency.
Alonso becomes the sixth imperishable manager to instrumentality complaint astatine Stamford Bridge successful the past 4 years aft Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior was sacked aft little than 4 months successful complaint successful April aft Chelsea mislaid 5 consecutive league games without scoring for the archetypal clip since 1912.
Interim brag Calum McFarlane guided them into the FA Cup final, but Chelsea are winless successful 7 league games and astatine hazard of missing retired connected European shot wholly adjacent season.
Alonso has a constituent to beryllium aft a turbulent abbreviated spell successful Madrid, but his accomplishment is simply a coup for Chelsea’s much-criticised owners.
Many Liverpool fans were hopeless for him to instrumentality to Anfield, wherever helium starred for 5 years arsenic a subordinate betwixt 2004 and 2009, to win the under-fire Arne Slot.
