📸 Xabi Alonso, Spain footballer: Photo Gallery (Photo: 10)

📄 Summary

Xabi Alonso

Spain

25 November 1981

midfielder

11.6M @xabialonso Xabi Alonso Instagram

Xabi Alonso is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, he was known for his exceptional passing range and long-distance shooting. Alonso is also currently considered to be one of the best young managers in the world.

Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home province Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar, he was appointed as team captain of Real Sociedad and finished as runners-up in La Liga in the 2002–03 season. He moved to Liverpool in 2004 for £10.5 million and won the UEFA Champions League in his first season, scoring in the final. He later won the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield. Alonso moved to Real Madrid in 2009 in a deal worth £30 million and won La Liga, two Copa del Rey titles, and another UEFA Champions League. He joined German club Bayern Munich in 2014 and won three Bundesliga titles, including a domestic double in his second season, and retired in 2017.

He made his international debut for Spain in April 2003 and went on to win the European Championship twice in 2008 and 2012, as well as the 2010 World Cup. He also represented Spain at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. On 23 June 2012, Alonso won his 100th cap for Spain in the quarter-final of Euro 2012 against France, where he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. Alonso retired from international football after the 2014 World Cup. His 114 appearances make him the eighth-most capped player in Spain's history.

Alonso coached Real Madrid's U14 team before being appointed as manager of Real Sociedad B in 2019, where he won promotion to the Segunda División in his second season. Alonso was named head coach of Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 and completed an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double in 2024, winning the club's first ever Bundesliga title and first DFB-Pokal since 1993. After two-and-a-half years with the German side, Alonso was appointed as the new head coach of his former club Real Madrid in June 2025, but he left the club seven months later by mutual consent.

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📋 Profile & Career

: Alonso in 2018

⚽ Personal information:
Full name: Xabier Alonso Olano
Date of birth: (1981-11-25) 25 November 1981 (age 44)
Place of birth: Tolosa, Spain
Height: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position: Midfielder

⚽ Youth career:
1990–1999: Antiguoko

⚽ Senior career*:
Years: Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000: Real Sociedad B 39 (2)
1999–2004: Real Sociedad 114 (9)
2000–2001: → Eibar (loan) 14 (0)
2004–2009: Liverpool 143 (15)
2009–2014: Real Madrid 158 (4)
2014–2017: Bayern Munich 79 (5)
Total: 547 (35)

⚽ International career:
2000: Spain U18 1 (0)
2002–2003: Spain U21 9 (0)
2001–2012: Basque Country 5 (0)
2003–2014: Spain 114 (16)

⚽ Managerial career:
2019–2022: Real Sociedad B
2022–2025: Bayer Leverkusen
2025–2026: Real Madrid

📰 Google News (RSS)

Xabi Alonso earns backing of Chelsea players as talks with club progress - The Guardian

Xabi Alonso earns backing of Chelsea players as talks with club progress  The Guardian
Xabi Alonso demands emerge after Chelsea talks progress over new manager role  The Independent
Chelsea locker room stance on Xabi Alonso appointment as board accepts job demands  Liverpool.com
Five Real Madrid Players That Could Follow Xabi Alonso to Chelsea  Sports Illustrated
Xabi Alonso the frontrunner for Chelsea job — but he wants assurances  The Times
Xabi Alonso ‘seeking assurances’ from Chelsea about head coaching role — reports  We Ain't Got No History
Ten demands Xabi Alonso should make to BlueCo to accept Chelsea job  Football365
Xabi Alonso has already told Chelsea what they need to hear as he decides on new job  Football London
Chelsea Could Field Incredible XI Under Xabi Alonso with £160m Spent on Key Signings  GiveMeSport

✐ The Guardian
Thu, 14 May 2026 15:50:00 GMT

Kylian Mbappe sends clear message on Xabi Alonso; FSG should be on red alert - Yahoo Sports