Xabi Alonso is no longer Real Madrid’s manager. The capital club announced the Spanish coach’s departure on Monday, just six months after his appointment. Several figures illustrate the surprise sacking of the former Bayer Leverkusen boss.
Appointed on 25th May as Real Madrid’s new manager in place of Italian Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso was supposed to be the new figurehead of a new era for the capital club, who finished four points behind FC Barcelona in La Liga and were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The mission of the manager who arrived from German side Bayer Leverkusen lasted just six months.
Deeply affected by a painful failure in the last summer transfer window – the non-arrival of midfielder Martin Zubimendi – Xabi Alonso leaves Los Blancos after only 34 matches in charge across all competitions.
To find the last Real Madrid manager pushed towards the exit with so few matches on the bench, you have to go back to Santiago Solari’s brief spell, just 28 matches between November 2018 and March 2019 before Zinedine Zidane’s appointment.
Xabi Alonso is the latest Real Madrid manager this century to last less than 50 games ? pic.twitter.com/PLK7qF1S47
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 12, 2026
Xabi Alonso, few defeats but significant ones
Real Madrid did not give Xabi Alonso time, dismissing him just hours after Kylian Mbappe and his teammates’ defeat to FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final (2-3).
The 44-year-old manager leaves after only six defeats, although five of them were heavy and memorable: 0-4 against PSG in the Club World Cup semi-finals, 2-5 against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, 0-1 against Liverpool and 1-2 against Manchester City in the Champions League, and therefore 2-3 against the Blaugrana yesterday, in a match that offered Xabi Alonso the chance to win his first trophy.
Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid with one of the best win percentages under Florentino Pérez ?
Sacked too soon? ? pic.twitter.com/QpCLvGfLXz
— LiveScore (@livescore) January 12, 2026
Impressive win ratio despite the sacking
In 34 matches in charge, Real Madrid achieved 24 victories under his leadership, a success rate of 70.5%.
A win ratio higher than Frenchman Zinedine Zidane’s two spells (69.8% and 60.5%) and Italian Carlo Ancelotti’s (68.8%), although his two illustrious predecessors achieved these percentages over a far greater number of matches managed (263 for Zidane, 234 for Ancelotti).
Xabi Alonso is not even far off Portuguese Jose Mourinho’s win ratio (71.3%). Surprising figures that left the Madrid hierarchy unmoved.
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