Spanish La Liga

Next Real Madrid Manager Odds: Leading Contenders For Bernabeu Job

5 hours ago

| BY Sam Cox

Only four points off Barcelona in La Liga and with four wins from five Champions League matches, it doesn’t look like Real Madrid are in turmoil.

Los Blancos have two wins in their last seven matches. Xabi Alonso has clashed with a number of high-profile players, including Vinicius Jr., who reportedly won’t sign a new contract while Alonso is in charge.

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The club’s hierarchy is seemingly siding with the players. A group, including Vinicius, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and Eduardo Camavinga, is believed to be leading a revolt to get Alonso replaced.

Zinedine Zidane, who has already had two stints as Real manager, has been tabbed as a ‘dream’ replacement. Zidane and Jürgen Klopp have been ‘ruled out’, however, leading to plenty of football betting speculation about other candidates.

Alvaro Arbeloa

Alvaro Arbeloa is the leading candidate to replace Alonso, according to Fichajes.

Per their reporting, the former right-back has ‘impressed the board with his leadership skills, his deep connection to the club, and his strong performances with the youth teams’.

Club president Florentino Perez apparently values his character, his relationship with young players, and his experience at the club.

Arbeloa’s managerial career has exclusively been in the Real Madrid ranks. Starting out with the under-14s in 2020, he took over the under-19s in 2022 and became Real Madrid Castilla manager in May 2025.

As a player, he made over 200 career appearances for Real Madrid, winning two Champions Leagues and La Liga.

Andoni Iraola

A candidate for the job when Alonso was hired, Andoni Iraola’s stock has risen at a rapid rate since taking over at Bournemouth. He’s made Bournemouth into a contender for continental qualification with impressive tactical flexibility.

There’s no question Iraola would jump at the chance to manage Real Madrid, but this would be a gamble for Perez. It’s a move that makes more sense if Real get an interim until the end of the season, giving Iraola a full summer to work with his squad.

Iraola will be managing in the Champions League before long. He’s going to be among the favourites whenever a top job becomes available.

Oliver Glasner

Look at what Oliver Glasner has achieved with LASK, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Crystal Palace. Imagine what he could do with the riches of Real Madrid and a squad featuring some of the world’s best players.

The concerns with Glasner are similar to Iraola. Real might favour a Spanish manager if they’re taking a risk on a manager without experience at a superclub – Glasner would represent a different appointment for Real, a step into the unknown after Alonso, Carlo Ancelotti, and Zidane.

From a neutral’s perspective, it would be fascinating to see how the Austrian would fare at the Bernabeu.

Simone Inzaghi

With Klopp and Zidane off the board, Simone Inzaghi is the standout candidate if Perez wants a manager with experience at a big club. Inzaghi won the Serie A and reached two Champions League finals during his four years in charge of Inter.

Before moving to San Siro, Inzaghi won a Coppa Italia and had a 53.4% win rate with Lazio. Now in charge of Al Hilal, the opportunity to return to Europe with the world’s biggest club would surely be too good to turn down.

An excellent man-manager who has adapted his tactics depending on the players at his disposal, Inzaghi has all the qualities to succeed at Real Madrid. He won’t have any problem moving on from the 3-5-2 that brought such success with Inter.