MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid pulled the trigger and replaced Xabi Alonso with B team manager Álvaro Arbeloa on Monday.
Madrid said Alonso left by mutual agreement but it followed a tumultuous stint that lasted less than eight months and came a day after Madrid lost to Barcelona 3-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Alonso was immediately replaced by Arbeloa — they were teammates for Madrid, Liverpool and Spain and won the World Cup together in 2010.
“Real Madrid wishes to announce that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his time as first team coach to an end,” a statement said. “Xabi Alonso will always carry the affection and admiration of all Madridistas because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.”
The club also thanked Alonso's coaching staff.
Alonso arrived last May under high expectations as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement and pressure built as the team struggled to play well under his command. He had spats with players such as Vinícius Júnior and widespread media reports said he lost control of the locker room.
Vinícius, and others, complained more than once of being substituted by the coach during matches. Some players publicly supported the coach late last year but the situation didn't appear to improve much.
After Sunday's loss in Jeddah, Alonso appeared to want his team to do a guard of honor for Barcelona during the awards ceremony but Kylian Mbappé and other players called him back and walked away.
Mbappé was the first player to bid farewell to Alonso on Monday. Mbappé praised and thanked Alonso in an Instagram story that accompanied a photo of him and the coach saluting each other.
“It's been short but it was a pleasure to play for you & learn from you,” the France star wrote. “Thank you for giving me the confidence since Day 1. I will remember you as a manager who had clear ideas and knows many things about football. Best of luck for you(r) next chapter.”
Other Madrid players also posted messages thanking Alonso and wishing him luck. Vinícius was not among those publicly bidding farewell to the coach.
Alonso did not immediately make any public comments.
He was at Madrid's helm in 34 matches across all competitions, winning 24, losing six and drawing four.
Madrid won the season's first clasico in October by 2-1 but still trails Barcelona by four points at the halfway point of La Liga. The team's next match is on Wednesday at Albacete in the Copa del Rey round of 16.
As a player, Arbeloa helped Madrid win eight titles from 2009-16, including two European Cups and one Spanish league. Arbeloa also helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.
The 44-year-old Alonso was in the same Spain team, as well as the Madrid team that won the 2014 Champions League. He won six titles with Madrid from 2009-14.
The 42-year-old Arbeloa had been coaching the B team since June. He also coached youth teams at the club.
Alonso signed in May to June 2028. He'd led Bayer Leverkusen to an unprecedented German league and cup double in his first full season after taking over the team when it was in the Bundesliga relegation zone the season before.
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FILE- Real Madrid's head coach Xabi Alonso gestures during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal soccer match against Atletico Madrid at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)
FILE - Real Madrid's head coach Xabi Alonso looks on ahead of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Sevilla in Madrid, Spain, on Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
Real Madrid's head coach Xabi Alonso gestures during the Spanish Super Cup final soccer match against FC Barcelona at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he did not think it would be “appropriate” for the Iranian soccer team to attend this year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, and cited safety concerns as a reason on Thursday while the countries remained embroiled in a war.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup,” Trump wrote on his social media site, “but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Iranian leaders said earlier this week that it’s “not possible” for the country to participate in the World Cup.
Trump's message appears to depart somewhat from what the Republican president relayed Tuesday at the White House to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who later publicly said that Trump assured him the Iranian players and coaches would be welcome.
A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations, had confirmed Trump’s message to Infantino about Iran’s participation.
On Thursday, the White House did not immediately clarify what Trump meant by “their own life and safety,” such as whether he anticipated threats against them while in the United States after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began Feb. 28.
Iran, one of 48 teams in the tournament, is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
Iran’s soccer federation has planned to take the team in June to a tournament base camp in Arizona, at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson.
Since June, Iran has been subject to a travel ban into the U.S. as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But athletes and coaches from the target nations are exempt, which means the Iranian team would be allowed to enter the U.S.
But there are also likely fears from Iranian soccer players about playing in a tournament abroad where they could be feted by an anti-regime diaspora while their families face threats back home.
The Iranian women's soccer team, which arrived in Australia to play at its Asian Cup tournament before the U.S. and Israeli bombing attacks on Iran started, did not sing the Iranian national anthem before its first game. That was widely interpreted as a gesture of protest or an act of mourning. Several members of the team stayed in Australia on humanitarian visas afterward.
At the 2022 men’s World Cup, played in Qatar, the Iranian team did not sing the anthem before a game against England and did not celebrate the two goals scored in a 6-2 loss. At that time, Iran was in turmoil several weeks after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly violating a strict Islamic dress code.
FIFA’s own evaluation was “low risk” for World Cup safety and security plans proposed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico soccer foundations, which are guaranteed by their governments. Trump has often taken credit for “winning” the World Cup hosting rights in 2018, when the three neighbors easily beat Morocco in a vote by FIFA member federations.
“All parties have experience of hosting major sports events on a regular basis and established arrangements are in place for managing security and safety at stadiums and for high-profile individuals,” FIFA’s in-house inspection team wrote eight years ago.
Iranian athletes who previously defied the Islamic regime have left the country to continue their careers.
Iran’s first female athlete to win an Olympic medal, Kimia Alizadeh, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in taekwondo, criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf. She competed for the Olympic refugee team at Tokyo in 2021 and for Bulgaria at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Judoka Saeid Mollaei went into hiding in Germany after a dispute with Iranian team officials at the 2019 world championships. Mollaei, the defending champion, said he was ordered to lose a bout to avoid a potential gold medal match against an Israeli opponent. He got Mongolian citizenship and took silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Dunbar reported from Geneva.
President Donald Trump pauses after a person in the crowd needed medical assistance as he speaks at Verst Logistics Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Hebron, Ky. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - President Donald Trump stands on stage next to the FIFA World Cup after receiving the FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - Irans's players pose for a team photo before an Asian group A qualifying soccer match against North Korea for the 2026 World Cup, June 10, 2025, at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, file)
