La Liga club Real Madrid has reportedly selected Xabi Alonso as their manager for the 2024-25 season, as initially reported by Spanish outlet Radio MARCA and subsequently confirmed by other news outlets in the country.

The Spanish former player, widely regarded among the best midfielders of his generation, played for the club from 2009 to 2014. He was a part of the Real Madrid squad who won the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League.

Alonso has made 236 appearances in the Los Blancos shirt, winning the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and two Copa del Rey trophies.

Real Madrid's hierarchy appears unaffected by Alonso's limited managerial experience, favoring the 41-year-old as their top candidate to replace Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti has been rumored to take the coaching job of the Brazil men's national football team, with Brazil's Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues claiming that the four-time UEFA Champions League winning coach will be taking over the Selecao at the 2024 Copa America.

Xabi Alonso's coaching experience

Alonso took a job at Real Madrid's youth academy at the end of his playing career in 2018, assuming the role of coaching the U14 team while completing his UEFA Elite coaching course.

He spent the next three years coaching Real Sociedad B, the reserve team of his boyhood club, Real Sociedad, from 2019 to 2022.

Alonso was then appointed as manager of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, his first role as a tactician at top-flight level. He led the team to a 6th-place finish in the league in 2022-23.