In a confirmation that has sent ripples through European football, Real Madrid’s interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa announced Friday that he will step down from his position at the end of the current campaign, which has ended without a single trophy for the Spanish giants.
When pressed by reporters at a press conference to confirm widespread speculation that he would not return for the 2025-26 season, Arbeloa gave a direct affirmative answer. The confirmation comes amid persistent, high-profile reports that veteran Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho is on the brink of making a sensational return to the Santiago Bernabeu to take over the top job.
Arbeloa’s tenure at the helm of Los Blancos wraps up this weekend, when the club hosts Athletic Bilbao in its final La Liga fixture of what has widely been described as a turbulent, underwhelming season. The former Real Madrid full-back was hand-picked by club president Florentino Perez back in January to step into the role following Xabi Alonso’s departure to take over Bayern Munich, but his short stint in charge never delivered the silverware the club demanded.
Now, with Mourinho widely expected to step into Arbeloa’s role, the departing coach made clear he has no interest in joining the new manager’s technical staff should the appointment go through. “Mou has a fantastic technical team, he’s got good people around him,” Arbeloa explained to reporters. “If he comes to Madrid he will come with his team. There’s no chance that I would be with him.”
As for what comes next for his career, Arbeloa admitted he has not yet mapped out his future plans. “Then, my future… from Monday I’ll think about that,” he said.
The 42-year-old has deep, longstanding ties to Real Madrid, having played for the first team between 2009 and 2016 before moving into coaching within the club’s youth academy. He framed his impending exit as a temporary parting rather than a permanent goodbye to the club he considers his lifelong home.
“I hope it’s a see you later… I’ve always considered this my home, I’ve belonged to Madrid for 20 years in various roles,” Arbeloa said. “It will be my last game this season as coach of Real Madrid, I don’t know if it will be the last game of my life as coach of Real Madrid. We never know. I’ll try and enjoy it and try to get the win.”