Chelsea Reportedly Reach “Full Agreement” with Xabi Alonso

If you thought the mood around Liverpool couldn’t get any more toxic following Friday night’s dismal 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa that saw yet another disinterested and disorganized performance from Arne Slot’s struggling Reds in the penultimate match of a 2025-26 season, well, strap yourselves in.

That’s because after a week of buzz and whisper surrounding a Chelsea move to make Xabi Alonso their next manager, widespread reports today have quickly escalated that story, bringing it to the very cusp of done deal territory and ensuring Liverpool won’t get in the manager the fans at least want.

After a flurry of early reports suggesting a deal between Chelsea and Alonso was close, it now appears that the deal is very much done and the former Liverpool midfielder—and the manager who saw success at Bayer Leverkusen with Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong—will be Chelsea’s next manager.

Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to insist that Slot is their man and that he and sporting director Richard Hughes are the men to lead the team forward and despite that they have now overseen over the past 18 months the decline of a Liverpool side most believed was primed for long-term success.

By all accounts, Alonso would have jumped at the Liverpool job—they were one of three clubs he had an out clause for at Leverkusen along with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. That he is now set to join Chelsea is the strongest signal that Liverpool had no interest in bringing him in.