Xabi Alonso was not wanted as Real Madrid manager for Club World Cup

This summer’s Club World Cup will be the start of Xabi Alonso’s reign as head coach of Real Madrid, following his move from Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the domestic season. The former Galactico replaced Carlo Ancelotti, although this was not the plan that the club had in mind.

In the final few weeks of the season, it became apparent that Ancelotti would not be continuing at Real Madrid for the remainder of his contract, which was due to expire in 2026. His replacement was always going to be Alonso, but according to El Confidencial (via Sport), the plan had been for the Spaniard to take charge after the Club World Cup.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was the driving force behind this, as he believed a poor Club World Cup would add early and unnecessary pressure on to Alonso for the start of the 2025-26. And that is why Los Blancos wanted Santiago Solari in charge for this summer’s tournament in the United States.

But as revealed by the report, Solari turned down the offer, which greatly infuriated Perez. And it was not the only proposal that the Argentine, who has been Real Madrid interim manager on multiple occasions, opted to turn down, as he rejected the chance to take charge of the woman’s team.

As a result, it was quickly decided that Alonso should be in charge of Real Madrid for the Club World Cup. And while it does bring a risk of him being on the back foot early on with a poor campaign, there is a chance that early momentum is built with a successful tournament in the United States.