Xabi Alonso set to replace Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid manager - when could it be announced?

Alonso, 43, will replace Carlo Ancelotti, who will apparently step down at the end of the season. According to Marca, the Italian manager will bid farewell to the Santiago Bernabeu after Real host Real Sociedad on the final weekend of the campaign.

Ancelotti, 65, returned to Madrid in 2021 for a second spell, during which he won two LaLiga titles and two Champions League trophies. He also led the club to European glory during his first tenure. However, this season’s Champions League quarter-final exit to Arsenal and failure to retain the league title has brought his time to a close.

Alonso, who starred for Real Madrid as a player between 2009 and 2014, will bring with him trusted assistants Sebas Parrilla and Alberto Encinas. His appointment follows a remarkable rise in the managerial ranks, having led Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga campaign and a domestic double last season.

Despite only two league defeats this term, a 2-2 draw with Freiburg on Sunday saw Leverkusen surrender the title to Bayern Munich.

This will be Alonso’s third managerial role, following three years in charge of Real Sociedad B before moving to Germany in 2022. His impressive work at Leverkusen made him Real Madrid’s top target.

Alonso’s first assignment will be to lead Real Madrid in the Club World Cup this summer, where they will face Al-Hilal, Pachuca, and Red Bull Salzburg in the group stage. Madrid are still hoping to travel to the Club World Cup with Trent Alexander-Arnold on their books, with Liverpool’s right-back leaving Anfield at the end of the season.

News of his imminent appointment comes ahead of a crucial LaLiga clash, as Ancelotti’s side travel to face Barcelona on Sunday in a potential title decider.