Members of Real Madrid board lining up Xabi Alonso to replace Carlo Ancelotti

It’s hardly a secret that Xabi Alonso had his pick of jobs before announcing that he would stay at Bayer Leverkusen this summer, and the chances are that will be the case again when he is a free agent in 2026. That could include the Real Madrid job, with Carlo Ancelotti also finalising his current deal that summer.

Many have put two and two together, and believe that Alonso will be the man to replace the Italian coach, who worked under Carletto while he was playing at the Santiago Bernabeu. According to Matteo Moretto, as revealed to Football España, he is aware that there is a chance he could be the chosen one to take over if things do not change their course.

There are ‘important’ figures at Real Madrid who believe him to be ‘the perfect replacement’ for Ancelotti, and there are none more so than President Florentino Perez, who ‘holds him in very high regard’.

Provided Alonso does not exhibit a major drop off in the coming two years, it appears he will be welcomed with open arms at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2026, if he so desires. At that point Ancelotti will be 68 – he has always maintained that he will stay at Real Madrid as long as he can, but it’d be surprising on one level if he last until 2026, let alone if he was given the chance to continue beyond that date. By Christmas next season, he will already be in charge of the third-longest stint as a manager since the civil war, surpassed only by Vicente del Bosque and Miguel Munoz.