Xabi Alonso breaks silence on taking Chelsea job and sets players early challenge

Xabi Alonso has conducted his first interview since taking over as Chelsea manager with the Spaniard talking about his decision to move to Stamford Bridge and his ambitions at the club

Xabi Alonso has promised Chelsea supporters the good times will return to Stamford Bridge – but has warned the players it will take a lot of hard work to build a culture within the club.

After a disappointing 2025/26 season that saw two head coaches in Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior leave and be dismissed, respectively, the club have put their faith in Alonso, who has signed a four-year contract in west London, spearheading BlueCo’s ambitious long-term project at Stamford Bridge.

Alonso met a large group of Blues players on Thursday for the start of their intense pre-season programme. It is the very beginning of a summer where Alonso will look to whip his new squad into shape and he has warned his players that a lot of hard work and dedication will be needed to succeed under his management.

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“You can’t hold back anything, everything is for the team,” said Alonso, in his first public words since officially starting work as the Chelsea manager. “Hard work is a must. We need to create that culture, it starts here in a daily process at Cobham.”

He added: “The potential of the team and squad made me really excited, to find a squad to work with, create a football idea, bring excitement to the stadium and connect with the fans.

“It feels great, but it’s a big honour. To be part of this great club that is one of the best in the world with great success in the last decades, and it’s a big privilege to be a part, and now it’s looking forward to the challenge.”

Alonso knows first-hand how impressive the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge can be but in recent seasons, that has not been the case with a lot of the match-going crowd turning on the club’s ownership group. The new Chelsea manager has pledged to try and restore the energy that the Bridge can generate.

“I know the energy that this stadium has and we need to create that energy and this bond with all the parts,” said the Blues gaffer.

Sharing a message with the supporters, Alonso pledged that the good times will return to Stamford Bridge and wants there to be a togetherness and bond between the squad and fan base. He said: “The message is we want to share that belief that good things will come if we are together and we create this strength, it has to come from us to bring the energy, but together, we can achieve great things in the coming years.”

Alonso left Real Madrid in January after less than eight months at the Santiago Bernabeu, Chelsea leapt at the chance to appoint the promising 44-year-old coach back in May. Alonso always wanted to one day manage in the Premier League and he believes moving to the capital has come at the perfect time for him in his career.

“It’s the right timing for me, after my experience in Germany and in Spain,” added Alonso. “I was always excited about trying some time in the Premier League, and it came at the right moment, in the right club, with a good opportunity and feeling, and the Premier League is exciting.”