‘Not Common’—Arne Slot Reacts to Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid Exit

The suave shadow of an out-of-work Alonso now looms over every underwhelming Liverpool result.

Xabi Alonso (left) and Arne Slot have clashed on the touchline in the Champions League in each of the last two seasons. | Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images/Getty Images

Liverpool boss Arne Slot claimed that the rapid nature of Xabi Alonso’s dismissal at Real Madrid was “not common” and dismissed the idea that ‘head coaches’ are more vulnerable to the sack than ‘managers’ in modern football.

Slot himself has come under pressure in this new role for English football. The Dutch tactician was appointed in the summer of 2024 as Liverpool’s first ever head coach, focusing largely on the day-to-day demands of his playing staff while the club’s freshly hired sporting director, Richard Hughes, dealt with transfers.

Both operate under the authority of the club’s CEO of football, Michael Edwards.

While this distinction between manager and head coach is a modern phenomenon in England, it has been commonplace on the continent. As Slot said upon his appointment: “This is the way it is in Europe and in Holland.”

A lot of managers don’t get time at Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso was one of them. pic.twitter.com/IqsdFc0qi5

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 13, 2026

Real Madrid hired Alonso as the club’s new “coach” in May. Less than eight months later, he had lost that post (and the dressing room).

Rather than a sign of any grander trend, Slot dismissed Alonso’s swift exit as a one-off. “This is not common for Real Madrid that a manager is sacked—or whatever word you want to use—that a manager is sacked so early in his career,” he argued. “Let’s see if this is constantly going to happen but I think there are other examples as well.”

Alonso’s tenure was brief but not unprecedented. As many as seven Real Madrid managers this century have taken charge of fewer matches than the former Liverpool midfielder, who mustered 34 before he was shown the door.

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Slot Happy With Head Coach Distinction

Arne Slot has given his thumbs up. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

It was put to Slot that Alonso’s departure was a consequence of the dwindling authority held by head coaches in the modern game. Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea exit and Manchester United’s sacking of Ruben Amorim, who explicitly bemoaned the categorisation of his position, were upheld as further evidence. The Dutch boss wasn’t convinced.

“I have worked for three years at my first club, should have worked four years at my second club, worked three years at my third club and now here for one-and-a-half years,” he told assembled reporters.

“The clubs you are mentioning [Chelsea, Man Utd and Real Madrid], we know with one of these clubs what kind of history they have. So I don’t know if it has changed.

“I see some managers working a long time at a club and one of our rivals has a manager [Pep Guardiola at Manchester City] who has been working for a long time. Mikel Arteta has been working for a long time at Arsenal.

“I think there will always be examples of managers who work a long time at a club and clubs where managers don’t work for a long time. But Carlo Ancelotti was a long time at Real Madrid?”

“In England there is a manager and head coach and in other countries it is usually a head coach,” Slot added. “Like I said Ancelotti worked for a long time at Madrid and other managers did as well.”

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Liverpool Not Considering Replacing Slot With Alonso—Report

Things didn’t work out in the end for Alonso. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Liverpool’s underwhelming run of 12 unbeaten matches—half of which have been draws—represents an improvement upon the dire sequence of form over the autumn. When the Reds sunk to a nadir of nine defeats in 12 games, their worst stack of results since post-war rationing was phased out, Slot was benefitted by a distinct lack of suitable managerial alternatives.

Alonso’s availability ensures that there will now be a suave shadow looming over every unsatisfactory result at Anfield. The Athletic insist that Slot “retains the backing” of Liverpool’s owners with a mid-season move all but ruled out. Yet, whether that faith extends beyond the end of the campaign will depend entirely upon the coming months.

Should Liverpool miss out on Champions League qualification or fail to advance in any of the cups, Slot would surely come under some sort of pressure with Alonso—a top candidate for his position back in 2024 before he turned it down to stay at Bayer Leverkusen—very much on the market.

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