Álvaro Arbeloa is the new Real Madrid coach.

By Samuel On Jan 12, 2026

The former right=back was managing Real Madrid Castilla and will replace Xabi Alonso.

Real Madrid announced this Monday that Álvaro Arbeloa is the new coach of the first team, replacing Xabi Alonso, who also left the club this afternoon by mutual agreement .

Arbeloa, who played with Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid, was at the time coaching Real Madrid Castilla, a challenge he had accepted at the beginning of this season after three seasons managing the youth team. He leaves Real Madrid Castilla in fourth place in the RFEF First Division, which corresponds to our Liga 3.

Arbeloa is 42 years old, a native of Salamanca, and had a playing career with Zaragoza, Real Madrid, and Liverpool before hanging up his boots at West Ham. He will now have his first experience as a first-team coach.

Real Madrid statement:

“Real Madrid CF announces that Álvaro Arbeloa is the new coach of the first team.”

Álvaro Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025 and has spent his entire coaching career in the youth ranks of Real Madrid since 2020. He coached the under-12s in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the under-17s in the 2021-2022 season, and the under-19s from 2022 to 2025. As the under-19 coach, he won the treble in the 2022-2023 season (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Youth League) and La Liga in the 2024-2025 season.

As a player, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid during one of the most successful periods in its history. He wore our jersey between 2009 and 2016, playing in 238 official matches. During that time, he won 8 titles: 2 Champions Leagues, 1 Club World Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 La Liga title, 2 Copa del Rey titles, and 1 Spanish Super Cup.

With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was also part of a historic era, winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and two European Championships (2008 and 2012). He earned 56 caps for the national team.

Álvaro Arbeloa