Xabi Alonso could hold fire on accepting a new head coach position this summer.
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Sky Sports Dougie Critchley suggested that the Spaniard was highly unlikely to take on the Chelsea job amid links with the position vacated by Liam Rosenior in April.
The former Real Madrid boss has also been heavily linked with Arne Slot’s job at Liverpool.
Xabi Alonso won’t take the Chelsea head coach role
Critchely hopped onto X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday afternoon to cast some doubt over suggestions that Alonso could be the next Chelsea head coach.
Xabi Alonso rejected Gladbach to continue to develop at Real Sociedad B…
Xabi Alonso rejected Liverpool on the back of his unbeaten League and Cup double to continue to develop at Leverkusen…
I'm staggered that people think he'd be keen to become the 7th permanent manager… pic.twitter.com/RLKhMmZNTL
— Dougie Critchley (@DougieCritchley) May 5, 2026
And we’d have to wholeheartedly agree with the reputable journalist that such a move would seem… well… a little bit daft to say the least.
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Here we’re talking about a club that seems to relish in leaving managers next to no time to establish themselves in the position and build a culture.
Mind, we don’t think Rosenior was particularly well-equipped to meet the challenge of restoring Chelsea back within the elite class of Premier League clubs.
While you’d back Alonso to get more of a tune out of the Blues by comparison, it’s an environment that would prove to be even more toxic than the one he experienced in Madrid.
Liverpool or Bayern remain Alonso’s ideal next moves
There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes involved, but it’s hard to imagine Alonso accepting a step down below what his talents deserve.
Yes, perhaps there’s an argument for taking a relatively “safe” role – perhaps at a club comparable to Bayer Leverkusen’s level.
But that would be assuming the Bundesliga winner feels his time in Real Madrid was such a failure it necessitates a decision designed to restore his reputation. And as far as we’re concerned, no such effort is required; we agree with Critchley’s view that his dismissal at Real Madrid was indeed unfair.
As such, Xabi Alonso should be aiming for the kind of next step that guided his decision to leave Leverkusen.
Having ticked Madrid off his list, that really only leaves jobs of the calibre of Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Vincent Kompany remains extremely settled in Bavaria, but there’s an ongoing question mark over the future of Arne Slot at L4.
In that case, it may very well be ideal to wait and see how this situation develops.
The way Bayern Munich are playing he isn’t going to get that job any time soon. The only other options are the premier league. Rumours keep surfacing about Manchester city and Guardiola, he’s done It all with city and if he goes it’s the perfect job for Alonso. He’ll get big money to improve them.
Chelsea are a mess, and that’s we are heading with
slot and FSG. Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea under clueless American owners. All in terminal decline.
I absolutely agree! Bayern aren’t changing managers any time soon. Not without Man City making a HUGE push for Kompany. So that leaves the Liverpool job for me. In that case, Alonso’s best bet is to hold out until the job he actually wants becomes a live option.
FSG are insane if they think that the last 13 months of Slot’s dire football can be put down to ‘mitigating circumstances’. He has offered no progress or any indication that he has anything else to offer. Move him on!
I personally think we’ve moved beyond the point of mitigating circumstances. The football’s awful, we’re consistently woeful in the first half, standards have dropped… I think two pacy wingers would help this summer. But I’m concerned it just looks like we need something fresh in the dugout going into the next campaign. Liverpool hierarchy reportedly see it differently!
Yes, Slot ball doesn’t work in England. He won the league with Klopps team not his.
He can’t handle the LFC job. I think the club should move on. Hansi Flick is a better option for me. Alonso is taking the Mick , he failed miserably at Real with unlimited budget.
He made a big mistake at Real because he thought they would listen to him. The egos of the players there are so big that I don’t know if there is a coach who can tame these divas. There is no team – there are individuals.
Frankly if FSG think that Slot will turn things around next season/they are wrong! Slot has lost the dressing room, his tactics are ineffectual, his choice of how to play is dull, his use of Wirtz has been criminal, his selections for the first team have been at times inane, his lack if encouragement for the up and coming younger players at LFC has been diabolical.
For mine Ariola is the answer and only Ariola. YNWA.