Álvaro Arbeloa confirmed he won’t coach Real Madrid beyond the final game of the season on Saturday, closing the chapter on a short stint that began in January after Xabi Alonso was fired. His departure comes as Spanish media reports Real Madrid is seriously c
Madrid went into Friday’s press conference already carrying the weight of what many fans had assumed for weeks. Álvaro Arbeloa didn’t soften it.
Asked whether the game against Athletic Bilbao would be his last, Arbeloa said “yes.” The match is scheduled for Saturday, which now marks the end of his time as Real Madrid’s coach.
The decision doesn’t land in a vacuum. Arbeloa’s promotion from Real Madrid’s reserve team to replace fired Xabi Alonso came in January. and the season quickly failed to deliver the kind of results Madrid needed to keep him in place beyond the summer. In his debut, Madrid lost to a second-division opponent in the Copa del Rey. The team then exited the Champions League quarterfinals to Bayern Munich. and the domestic finish is set: Madrid will end La Liga in second place behind Barcelona.
For months, the expectation had been that Arbeloa would serve as an interim option while the club searched for a clearer long-term solution in the offseason—an arrangement that now appears to be playing out exactly as predicted.
That is where the talk accelerates. Spanish media has been full of reports that Real Madrid is seriously considering bringing back José Mourinho for a second stint. 13 years after he previously coached the club. Mourinho, who has coached Benfica this campaign, recently said he will decide his future soon.
Arbeloa, 43, framed his departure as a pivot toward whatever comes next. After four months in charge, he said he has “already made the leap, improved greatly over these four months, and I feel prepared for new challenges,” adding, “Starting Monday, I will think about them.”
For Arbeloa, the last image is straightforward: Saturday against Athletic Bilbao. For Real Madrid, the question is already shifting to what comes after—whether the club goes back to a familiar voice, or chooses a different path after a season that never quite moved beyond its early fractures.
Álvaro Arbeloa Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao José Mourinho Benfica La Liga Copa del Rey Champions League Xabi Alonso Álvaro Arbeloa leaving Real Madrid
So he’s done after Saturday… but like who even picked him? feel bad for the fans.
Honestly Mourinho coming back makes sense. Madrid always goes back to the same guy like a season loop. If they hired Arbeloa in January then it was doomed from the start.
Wait I thought Xabi Alonso got fired and then Arbeloa fixed everything? But they lost to Bayern and also Barca is ahead so I guess not. Also is it Athletic Bilbao on Saturday or Madrid playing like… a second division team again??
This is why football clubs can’t just stop changing managers every five minutes. If Arbeloa “improved greatly” for four months then why were they losing to Bayern and getting knocked out already? And why is Spanish media acting like Mourinho is the only option, like Benfica is some tiny team. I’m confused but I’m also not surprised.