Xabi Alonso agrees to join Chelsea as new head coach — reports

Soccer

Xabi Alonso agrees to join Chelsea as new head coach — reports

Yahoo Sports1h ago2 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Xabi Alonso has agreed to become the new head coach of Chelsea FC on a four-year contract, following reports from multiple sources. The announcement is expected soon after Chelsea's FA Cup final defeat.

Key points

Xabi Alonso agrees to coach Chelsea FC
Contract length is four years
Announcement expected after FA Cup final
Alonso was Chelsea's top managerial target
He will have more influence in football decisions

Mentioned in this story

Xabi Alonso

Chelsea FCReal Madrid

Xabi Alonso, coach of Real Madrid, smiles on the bench during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Girona FC and Real Madrid at the Montilivi Stadium in Girona, Spain, on November 30, 2025 (Photo by Ruben De La Rosa/NurPhoto via Getty Images). | NurPhoto via Getty Images Xabi Alonso has agreed to become the new head coach at Chelsea Football Club on a four-year contract, according to an exclusive from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, and in the minutes since echoed by many other reports as well. Chelsea were said to be hoping to move quickly to secure Alonso’s signing after the FA Cup final, and we certainly wasted no time in that regard. Barely an hour after the final whistle sounded on our latest Wembley defeat, the news broke. Would it have broken just as quickly had we won the Cup? Probably not. But hey, at least we’ve got something positive from this day after all. Alonso emerged as the clear consensus top target in our managerial search, and despite questions about the appeal of the job and the direction of the club, the 44-year-old has agreed to join anyway. He’s supposedly getting a bit more influence than his more recent predecessors, with BlueCo letting him have some say in footballing matters, though we’ll have to wait and see how all that shakes out with our countless sporting directors and such. The official announcement is expected shortly.

Q&A

What contract length did Xabi Alonso sign with Chelsea?

Xabi Alonso signed a four-year contract with Chelsea FC.

When is the official announcement of Xabi Alonso as Chelsea's head coach expected?

The official announcement is expected shortly after the FA Cup final.

Why did Chelsea choose Xabi Alonso as their new manager?

Chelsea identified Xabi Alonso as their top target for the managerial position due to his coaching credentials and potential influence in footballing matters.