Xabi Alonso opens up about Real Madrid exit: "It ended earlier than expected"

Xabi Alonso has opened up about the lingering feeling left by his Real Madrid departure. The Spanish coach, now in charge at Chelsea, admitted his time in the Madrid dugout came to an end sooner than he had expected, without ever knowing whether things would have turned out well or badly. In a conversation with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, he revisited his first year at Stamford Bridge and looked back without any resentment toward the club he managed for just a few months.

• Xabi Alonso admits his Real Madrid spell ended sooner than expected, with the team still alive in La Liga and the Champions League.
• He insists he holds no grudges and describes his time in the Madrid dugout as a learning experience.
• He explains he chose Chelsea because of the project's potential and because it was the right moment after leaving Leverkusen.
• The Spanish coach wants to bring the London club back into the Premier League title race.

The lingering regret of his Real Madrid farewell

Last season was far from easy for Xabi Alonso. After establishing himself as one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe thanks to his work at Bayer Leverkusen, he took on the Real Madrid challenge with all the pressure that comes with it. Yet his project was cut short much earlier than anticipated. The Basque manager acknowledged he is left with the feeling that it all ended halfway through, when the team still had genuine chances in the domestic league and in Europe's top club competition.

I'm left with the feeling that it ended a bit earlier than expected, without knowing whether it was going to end well or badly. It happened midway through the season, when we were still in La Liga and the Champions League, so...

No hard feelings toward the club: "Madrid is special in every way"

Despite the disappointment, Xabi Alonso does not look back with bitterness. The Tolosa native described his time at Real Madrid as a unique experience, different from any other club in absolutely every aspect. He admitted the pressure and the environment surrounding the Spanish giants are unlike anything he had lived before, but he prefers to focus on what he learned. He does not dwell on what could have been or on past mistakes, only on the fact that he gave everything he had while he was in charge.

Why he chose Chelsea to rebuild his career

The Stamford Bridge dugout appeared as a chance to press the reset button. Xabi Alonso confessed he had no previous connection with Chelsea, but the club's potential convinced him from the very beginning. He analyzed the squad, the room for improvement and the growth opportunities, and came to the conclusion that it could be the ideal stage to start a journey together. The ambition of restoring the Blues to the top of the Premier League matched his own vision of a project.

The right moment after Leverkusen and Madrid

His arrival in London was not a rash decision either. The Spanish manager explained that he signed for Chelsea when he felt it was the right time. After his brilliant spell in Germany and the Madrid experience, he needed a break, to recover good sensations and not rush into choosing his next move. He wanted a real connection with the new project, the intuition that he was in the right place. And he found it in west London.

The challenge of returning Chelsea to the summit

The goal in his first season at Chelsea is ambitious and clear: to bring the club back to the very top. After a period of ups and downs, the London side aims to regain its status among England's elite and compete for silverware again. Xabi Alonso, with his playing philosophy and his ability to develop young talent, wants to lead that rebuild. His opening weeks in the job have left positive impressions, and the fanbase is beginning to get excited about the new era.

Frequently asked questions about Xabi Alonso's coaching career