Potential Xabi Alonso Replacement Gives Telling One-Word Response to Real Madrid Links

Alonso is fighting to keep his job at the biggest club in the world.

Xabi Alonso is facing the sack at Real Madrid. / Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Real Madrid Castilla manager Álvaro Arbeloa shot down any talk of potentially taking over the first team from Xabi Alonso, muttering a simple “no” when asked of the possibility on Saturday evening.

Question marks surround Alonso’s future on the touchline at the Bernabéu. The Spaniard is firmly on the hot seat amid Los Blancos’ poor run of form; the Spanish giants have won just two of their last eight matches.

Reports out of Spain claim the former Bayer Leverkusen boss does not have much time left to prove himself capable of leading the biggest club in the world, opening the door for a succession plan to come together.

Time to push the Zizou button?

Zinedine Zidane was at the Bernabeu last night, watching on as under-fire Xabi Alonso oversaw another home defeat.

Real Madrid have now won just twice in the last eight games. pic.twitter.com/QQpgmX3H2p

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) December 11, 2025

Among the candidates potentially in line to replace Alonso is Arbeloa, who is currently in charge of the club’s reserve team. Yet the 42-year-old did not entertain the prospect of making the leap from Castilla to Real Madrid.

“I’m a Castilla coach and I’m focused on it, on my players, on the games I have ahead of me, on training and there is nothing else outside of that,” he vowed.

Arbeloa also told the media the club has not reached out to him about a potential succession plan and reiterated that his full focus is on Castilla, who sit fourth in the third tier of Spanish football.

HENRY WINTER. Winter Alonso. Xabi Alonso Discovering Real Madrid Is the Impossible Job. dark

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Arbeloa: Those Counting Out Alonso, Real Madrid Are ‘Very Wrong’

Álvaro Arbeloa could look to follow a similar path as Zinedine Zidane. / Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Despite his refusal to talk about potentially becoming Alonso’s successor, Arbeloa did show his support for the Spaniard and Real Madrid: “Anyone who thinks Real Madrid is dead is very wrong.”

The 15-time European champions are fresh off a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League, which came just three days after a dismal 2–0 loss to Celta Vigo. Los Blancos trail Barcelona by seven points in the La Liga standings—they do have a game in hand against Alaves on Sunday— despite sitting at the summit with a five-point gap at the start of November.

The poor run of form has potentially paved the way for Arbeloa to follow in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane and take over the first team in the event of Alonso’s dismissal. The Frenchman has also been linked with the potential job, along with Jürgen Klopp.

The ex-Liverpool boss is an unlikely fit, though, given his desire to take a break from the touchline and his current role as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer. Still, the mounting list of potential replacements puts even more pressure on the flailing Alonso.

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