"This team is impossible to coach." That verdict, from sources close to Xabi Alonso after his January sacking, now hangs over Real Madrid like a storm cloud. A 6-4 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League has effectively confirmed what many inside the club already believed — the rot runs deeper than any one manager can fix.
Alvaro Arbeloa will almost certainly pay the immediate price. The 43-year-old, only appointed in January, is expected to be dismissed at the end of the season rather than mid-campaign — there's too little left to play for to justify the disruption. His first game in charge produced a Copa del Rey exit to second-division Albacete. Now this. Madrid will finish the season without a major trophy for the second consecutive year — something that hasn't happened since 2009.
The manager search is already complicated
Jurgen Klopp's name keeps surfacing, but both the German and his agent have been explicit: no contact, no interest in leaving his Red Bull role. Zinedine Zidane, who delivered three straight Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, remains Florentino Perez's emotional preference — but sources close to the Frenchman suggest his eyes are on the France job once Didier Deschamps' contract expires in July.
Deschamps himself has been floated by one industry source as a candidate. So has Mauricio Pochettino, whose contract with the United States expires after this summer's World Cup and who was spotted in Madrid last month watching Spurs at Atletico. Perez has always rated him highly. Of the names in circulation, Pochettino looks the most realistic.
Whoever takes the job inherits a genuine mess. Both Ancelotti and Alonso reportedly told the club the same thing: the squad lacks balance, central midfield is threadbare, and at least one major star needs to be sold to fund proper reinforcements. That conversation hasn't translated into action.
The problems go well beyond the dugout
Madrid's injury record since 2023 has been alarming — arguably decisive in costing Ancelotti his final season. Physical trainer Antonio Pintus, a Perez loyalist, was sidelined when Alonso arrived and then reinstated the moment Alonso was fired. In March, it emerged that the medical team had performed an MRI on the wrong leg when diagnosing Kylian Mbappe's knee injury in December. That is not a minor administrative slip. It affected his recovery timeline at a critical point in the season.
There are also questions about the club's decision-making structure. Santiago Solari holds the director of football title in name, but sources say his influence has been minimal for years. General director Jose Angel Sanchez, chief scout Juni Calafat and Perez himself effectively run recruitment — and the results speak for themselves. Some within the industry believe a genuine sporting director is needed. Figures inside the club deny it.
- Arbeloa expected to be dismissed at season's end
- Pochettino considered the strongest managerial candidate
- Klopp and Zidane both unlikely despite speculation
- Medical staff restructure under consideration after Mbappe MRI error
- Debate over appointing a dedicated director of football continues internally
One training ground source described "confusion among the staff" last week, with "rumours that there are going to be a lot of changes" touching every department — board, coaching staff, medical team, physios, and players. That kind of instability seeps into preparation, into confidence, into results.
Barcelona lead Madrid by nine points in La Liga with seven games left, including a Camp Nou Clasico on May 10 when they could clinch the title on Madrid's watch. The last manager Perez kept after a trophyless season was Zidane. Arbeloa is not Zidane.
