Chelsea appoint Xabi Alonso as manager as contract details and start date confirmed

Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Xabi Alonso after he emerged in the last few days as the leading candidate to replace Liam Rosenior

Chelsea have appointed Xabi Alonso as the club’s new manager. Alonso, who will begin in his new role on July 1, has signed a four-year contract with the club and has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in January after just seven months at the helm of the Spanish giants.

BlueCo have opted with Alonso, who they believe is one of the brightest managerial talents in European football, to spearhead their long-term project at Stamford Bridge. Alonso has been given the role of ‘manager’ rather than ‘head coach’, meaning he is the first to take up that position since Jose Mourinho in his second spell in 2013.

Sources say Alonso will be given more power and will work alongside the club’s five-strong sporting leadership team in this summer’s transfer window. football.london understands Alonso is aligned with the sporting directors over the areas of the squad that need to be improved on at the end of the season.

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Alonso said: “Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.

“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear 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 great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”

Part of the statement from the club read: “Chelsea Football Club looks forward with confidence to the next phase in collaboration with Xabi, united in the determination to bring success to Stamford Bridge, a hallmark of the Club’s history and future.”

The Chelsea hierarchy had been searching for the right man to replace Liam Rosenior, who was sacked last month. Rosenior was sacked three months into a six-and-a-half-year contract.

Alonso, Andon Iraola and Marco Silva were among the managers under consideration, while Frank Lampard had also been linked with a sensational return to Stamford Bridge.

But it is Alonso who will become the fifth permanent appointment of the BlueCo ownership era, following Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosenior.

football.london understands that Alonso has sought assurances about how hands-on he will be in all aspects of team affairs – particularly having been ousted by player power during his short stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The appointment of Alonso is seen as a major coup for Chelsea, given the former Bayer Leverkusen boss is still considered one of Europe’s elite coaches.

The 44-year-old has long been linked with the Liverpool job should the Reds decide to part ways with Arne Slot, but the Dutchman retains the support of the Anfield hierarchy, even despite this season’s struggles to qualify for the Champions League.

Defeat to Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley means Chelsea are likely to be without European football next season for the second time in the BlueCo era.