×Abi Alonso will end his time as Real Madrid manager in 2025, but it is currently difficult to predict how long he will remain in charge of the club. The Basque manager’s future has been in serious jeopardy since early November, with his results and play in serious doubt, as he lost a five-point lead over Barcelona in La Liga, while faltering against Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League, calling into question his ability to compete with the continent’s greats.
The situation leaves Xabi Alonso walking a tightrope and could end up fighting for his job in the Spanish Super Cup in early 2026. A semi-final against Atlético Madrid (who they have already won 5-2 in La Liga) or a hypothetical final against Barcelona or Athletic Club will be the final test. A misstep in any of these games could see Alonso on the way out, especially if he doesn’t improve the image of a team that has looked soulless, without belief and lacking intensity in recent months.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s entrance turns tribute into viral moment
The reality that Xavi is experiencing on the Madrid bench is not new. Seven coaches have been fired or resigned in the middle of a season this century. Over the past 25 years, the club in the Spanish capital has not had much stability in leadership, except in the case of Vicente del Bosque, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane (in the second stage), who were the only ones who managed to survive in office for a long time.
Here we take a look back at all Real Madrid managers who were sacked or resigned during the 21st century.
Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque will not continue at the helm of the Spanish giants after winning the 2002-2003 La Liga title with Real Madrid and seven titles in four years, including two Champions League titles. At the same time as his departure, captain Fernando Hierro was also unable to renew his contract with the club, where he had spent 14 seasons. The Whites’ board, already chaired by Florentino Pérez, opted for a change of direction, but it ultimately did not work out and they only won the Supercopa de España from 2003 to 2007.
Carlos Queiroz
He joined from Manchester United, where he was Sir Alex Ferguson’s number two, as a replacement for Vicente del Bosque. He was the man behind Madrid’s bench in the Zidanes and Pavones project, which combined the world’s greatest soccer stars with homegrown products. His story didn’t end well. Although they won the Spanish Super Cup, the train derailed in La Liga (they finished 4th), lost to Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey final, and were eliminated by Monaco in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Jose Antonio Camacho
He joined Madrid in May 2004, but resigned after less than four months after suffering two defeats in six league games. “I don’t think this team is performing well enough and I don’t think it will improve even if I quit as coach. That’s why I decided to leave,” the Spaniard said candidly when announcing his decision. This is his second term at the helm of Madrid, and although it’s hard to believe, that term lasted longer than his first (summer 1998), when he resigned after only 22 days in office.
mariano garcia lemon
He was a proposed replacement after Camacho’s resignation, but he still did not meet the demands of the Madrid bench. He was appointed in September 2004, but by New Year’s Eve he was no longer the coach. Four draws out of 20 matches and the same number of losses sealed his fate.
Wanderlei Luxembourgo
He was Real Madrid’s first (and still only) Brazilian manager. In his first season, despite taking over a disjointed team, he won 16 La Liga games (including the Clasico against Barcelona) and finished four points behind the Catalans. However, they lost to Real Valladolid in the Copa del Rey and to Juventus in the Champions League. In the following season, he lost five of his first 14 league games and was sacked in December 2005.
Juan Ramon López Caro
Another interim coach who had arrived due to an emergency also exited through the back door. They won only half of their 24 games (9 draws, 3 losses), were eliminated in the Champions League against Arsenal, finished 12 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, and lost 6-1 to Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey semi-finals. At the end of the season, he was not renewed.
Fabio Capello
An old friend of the club (he was manager in 1996-97) returned to take a tough stance on the team, but was sacked after just one season, despite winning the Whites’ first La Liga title following the departure of Vicente del Bosque. The losses in the Copa del Rey (against Real Betis) and the Champions League (against Bayern Munich) were too heavy. His La Liga comeback was in vain. They have lost just once in their last 17 games (against Racing Santander) and have won 10 of their last 12, with spectacular comebacks against Sevilla, Espanyol, Recreativo de Huelva, Real Zaragoza and Mallorca.
Bernd Schuster
He arrived at Barcelona, which won La Liga by almost 20 points over Barcelona in the 2007-08 season, but began to accumulate disappointments. Defeated in the Champions League (against Roma) and Copa del Rey (against Mallorca), as well as in the 2007 Spanish Super Cup (against Sevilla), the German failed to win six of his first 14 league games, lost in the Copa del Rey to modest Real Union, and hit rock bottom until he was sacked in December 2008. He held the position for only a year and a half.
juande ramos
Less than 24 hours after taking over as Real Madrid manager, he made his Champions League debut in a 3-0 win against Zenit St. Petersburg, but lost his first league game 2-0 against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. After that, they went unbeaten in 18 games (17 wins) in domestic competitions, but suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League. To make matters worse, they suffered a memorable 6-2 defeat in the second Clasico of the season at the Bernabéu, making it their fifth straight defeat at the end of La Liga. After these results, he has no chance of renewal.
Manuel Pellegrini
“El Ingeniero” arrived in Madrid at the height of the revolution that brought Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Albiol and Arbeloa. It was a fantastic transfer window, one of the most impressive in living memory. With this weapon, Los Blancos scored over 100 goals and achieved 96 points in La Liga, but they were unable to surpass Barcelona, led by Josep Guardiola, who were crowned champions with 99 points. Pellegrini lost to Lyon in the Champions League and suffered a scandalous 4-0 loss to Alcorcón in the Copa del Rey, ending the season without a title. These results led to his downfall and he was fired at the end of the season.
carlo ancelotti
Ancelotti will forever be one of the most successful managers in the history of football and Real Madrid, but it wasn’t enough to save him from being sacked in 2015, just one year after he won at La Decima in Lisbon with a stoppage-time header from the legendary Sergio Ramos. The following season, Los Blancos lost to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, were eliminated in the Copa del Rey, and finished second in La Liga Santander, two points behind Barcelona. To top things off, they were eliminated by Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals. Ancelotti’s UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup victories were of little value as he was sacked to replace Rafa Benitez.
In his second spell in Madrid (2021-2025), the Italian once again won a total of 11 titles: 2 LaLiga titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 2 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Club World Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup. He stepped down by mutual consent in May 2025 and became Brazil national team coach.
Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez’s Madrid have had a cruising start to the season, scoring 19 goals in six games in the Champions League group stage and unbeaten in their first 10 La Liga games. However, back-to-back games against Sevilla and Barcelona (4-0 defeat at the Bernabéu) began to cast doubt on the Spanish manager’s project, which was further exacerbated by Denis Cheryshev’s poor coordination that resulted in a Copa del Rey exit against Cadiz. This spiral led to Benítez’s downfall, and he was sacked at the beginning of 2016, when the club were third in LaLiga.
zinedine zidane
Rafa Benítez’s hasty departure spelled a disastrous season for Madrid (15-16), but the arrival of Zinedine Zidane changed the team’s fortunes. The Frenchman took his team to third place in La Liga, but won 16 of the next 20 games (12 of them in a row) and finished second in the championship, one point behind Barcelona. His influence was even more evident in the Champions League, where they defeated Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City in the knockout stages, and defeated Atletico Madrid on penalties in the final. This was the beginning of a dynasty that won three consecutive European crowns.
After winning nine titles between 2016 and 2018, Zidane stepped down as Real Madrid manager and Cristiano Ronaldo took over, ending a brilliant and perhaps unrepeatable cycle. However, less than a year later, he came to the aid of Los Blancos again on the bench. In his second season, which started in March 2019, he won La Liga and the Supercopa de España, but he eventually resigned again in May 2021.
Julen Lopetegui
Julen Lopetegui was the man appointed to replace Zidane, and was announced shortly before his debut for Spain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This led to his immediate dismissal from the national team, so his first steps at Madrid did not take place in the best of circumstances, and this was noticeable. They lost to Atleti in the European Super Cup in August and won just four of their first 10 La Liga games. A five-game winless streak, including a 5-1 defeat against Barcelona, saw Lopetegui’s stay in Madrid come to an end and he left the club by October.
Santiago Solari
Solari was appointed interim manager of Real Madrid at the end of October 2018, but like his predecessor Lopetegui, he lasted less than five months. Although he won the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, he suffered two heavy defeats in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, both in the second leg at the Bernabéu: 3-0 against Barcelona and 4-1 against Ajax. These failures and inconsistent performances in La Liga led to his sacking in March, opening the door once again to Zidane, but this time he was unable to make up for his misfortune with a second consecutive third-place finish in La Liga.
