Why did Xabi Alonso choose Chelsea?

2 hours ago

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has explained his decision to take charge of the London club. "Why Chelsea? I love football and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I am proud to have this opportunity and I consider it a great honour. This is a club with great potential. My goal now is to succeed," said Alonso.

Alonso was officially appointed Chelsea manager on 1 July 2026, becoming the third manager to manage the club this year. After the resignation of Italian Enso Maresca, who led the club in the first half of the 2025/26 season, Liam Rosennor and Calum McFarlane have been in charge of the club since 2015.

Xabi Alonso started last season as head coach of Real Madrid. The Spanish specialist left the Madrid club in January 2026.

Earlier, it was reported that the Spanish specialist intends to strengthen the Chelsea squad with two players from the Real Madrid club. The new coach of the London club is interested in seeing Arda Guler and Alvaro Carreras in his team. The situation with the players is developing differently. Carreras, who lost his place in the squad after Alonso left Real, is ready to consider the option of moving to London, while Arda Guler does not want to leave the Madrid club.

The Turkish midfielder hopes to achieve success at Real and, despite the interest of Chelsea, does not plan to change his team for now. At the same time, Carreras has expressed his willingness to play under Alonso, who previously demanded his transfer to the Madrid club.