In the last 24 hours, there has been much focus on Alvaro Arbeloa’s future as Real Madrid manager, following the club’s Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
It’s been taken for granted that Arbeloa will not be kept on, having failed to deliver a trophy since taking over from Xabi Alonso in January – they are mathematically still in the La Liga title race, but they trail Barcelona by nine points with seven matches to go. However, there could now be hope for the former Real Madrid player that he remains in charge at the Bernabeu.
According to RTVE (via MD), Arbeloa has convinced the Real Madrid dressing room with his ideas, which in turn, has convinced some of the club’s board that he deserves to start the 2026-27 season as manager.
Although it has been a difficult period for Real Madrid in terms of results, the fact that Arbeloa has built a strong bond with his players, coupled with his regular use of La Fabrica talents, has meant that he has chances to have his contract renewed before it expires in June.
Does Arbeloa deserve to stay on?
While it is all well and good that Arbeloa has a good bond with the Real Madrid dressing room, that has not had much of an effect on results on the pitch – which is by far the biggest thing that Florentino Perez and co will look at when deciding whether or not to make another managerial change.
Arbeloa oversaw a demoralising Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Albacete, as well as a number of damning La Liga defeats to the likes of Osasuna and Getafe. The Champions League exit is likely to be the final straw, given that they have little to no chance of reeling in Barcelona before the domestic season ends.
Taking this into account, it would be a major surprise if Arbeloa is kept on. The players may well welcome the move, but the likelihood is that the Real Madrid supporters would not be pleased.
