Xabi Alonso is ready to take over the new role as Chelsea’s new manager. The announcement was made official by the Premier League club on Sunday. The 44-year-old was available after leaving Real Madrid by mutual consent in January.
According to ReutersThe former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager will reportedly become the fifth permanent appointment under Chelsea’s BlueCo ownership, following Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
This marks a crucial return to English football for Alonso, who made 210 appearances for Liverpool.
“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with enormous pride to become manager of this great club,” Alonso said in a statement.
“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear that we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.”
“There is a lot of talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be a great honor for me to lead this club. Now the focus is on working hard, building the right culture and winning trophies.”
It is pertinent to note that he previously played for the red team and moved to Real Madrid in 2009, eventually ending his playing career with Bayern Munich in 2017.
Chelsea have had a challenging season in the Premier League and face an incredibly difficult task to qualify for European competition after suffering a heartbreaking FA Cup defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
Moreover, the hope remains that Alonso will have the personality alive for his playing career to bring back the important standards he strives for by qualifying for the future Champions trophies.
