Major Overhaul Looms at Real Madrid After Champions League Exit

Real Madrid's elimination from the Champions League by Bayern Munich is expected to trigger significant changes at the club, starting with the position of head coach Alvaro Arbeloa. Arbeloa, who was appointed in January, is likely to be dismissed after the team's chaotic second-leg loss at the Allianz Arena, although he may remain in the role until the end of the season. The 4-3 defeat on the night and 6-4 loss on aggregate mean Madrid are almost certain to finish the term without a major trophy, having been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-division Albacete in Arbeloa's first game in charge. Defending champions Barcelona lead them by nine points in La Liga with seven matches to play, including a Camp Nou Clasico on May 10, when the Catalans could seal the title. Madrid ended the 2024-25 campaign without a major title, and the last time they went two seasons without such success was 16 years ago. Under long-serving president Florentino Perez, only one manager who ended a season without a major title has returned for the following campaign - Zinedine Zidane. The general view around the club now is that Arbeloa is likely to be fired, but he will first see out the season. The reasoning behind this is that it would make no sense to bring in a new manager now, with so little at stake, and that Arbeloa - a club man - has improved the atmosphere in the dressing room enough to help maintain a professional environment until May. Arbeloa's position as head coach has never been a strong one, despite his good work with the academy in previous roles and the fact that he is highly regarded by president Florentino Perez. In the statement announcing his promotion from reserve team manager in January - his first job in senior management and one he only started this season - the club did not specify the length of his new contract. This has been followed by persistent rumors about potential replacements for next season, or sooner. At the time, Madrid sources declined to comment on Arbeloa's status, while those close to him said his contract ran until at least the end of next season. Since then, neither side has addressed the topic publicly. Arbeloa's good relationship with Madrid's leadership - before starting work as a youth coach in 2020, he served in an ambassadorial role at various events - means he could stay on in a different position at the club if he wanted to. However, his clear preference is to continue in management, as he has big ambitions for his career. As well as answering that question about staying or going in his post-match press conference on Wednesday, Arbeloa said: 'I'm not at all worried about my future. Since I've been in this position, it hasn't been the slightest concern. I feel I've done everything I could to try and help my players win every day.' This has been a subject of speculation ever since Arbeloa was hired, with noise on the subject increasing around several spells of poor performances or results. It is still not sufficiently clear who Madrid would most like to appoint as manager, if they decide to replace Arbeloa as expected. However, conversations with sources around the club suggest various candidates have been discussed and considered. Jurgen Klopp has frequently been mentioned, despite the ex-Liverpool manager insisting publicly several times that he is happy in his role as Red Bull's global head of soccer, a position he took up in January 2025. The 58-year-old German is a highly regarded coach at the Santiago Bernabeu, but both he and his agent have publicly confirmed that there has been no contact and that Klopp is not considering leaving Red Bull. Perez highly appreciates Zinedine Zidane, who led Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016-2018. However, sources close to the Frenchman have previously spoken about the possibility of replacing Didier Deschamps as France boss after the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer. Deschamps himself has also been mentioned as a possible Madrid candidate by one industry source. The 57-year-old has led France since 2012, and his latest contract runs out in July. Last month, United States manager Mauricio Pochettino was in the Spanish capital and watched his old side Tottenham play at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. He should be considered a stronger candidate, as he has always been highly regarded by Perez. Pochettino's contract with the U.S. expires after the World Cup, but at a news conference on April 1, he said he would be open to staying on after the tournament, and that no talks had been held with Madrid. The coming weeks should bring more clarity. But potential changes to come at Madrid go beyond Arbeloa's position as head coach. The general feeling shared by several key voices within Real Madrid is that significant changes have been needed for some time now. Behind two failed seasons lie many factors and shortcomings, such as the number of signings, the impact of those who have arrived, harmony within the dressing room, and the number of injuries. On the sporting front, both of Madrid's two previous managers, Ancelotti and Alonso, believed that the squad was good, but that it lacked balance and more signings were needed. Sources close to both coaches and their staff have also highlighted the challenges of maintaining harmony in a team featuring big-name players such as Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, and Bellingham. Speaking after Alonso was fired in January, sources close to Ancelotti's former staff said they saw 'no solution right now' to Madrid's situation, and that the squad really needed a rebuild. In their opinion, one major star had to be sold, in order to bring in reinforcements at right-back, centre-back, and the right wing - but above all in central midfield. Following his sacking, sources close to Alonso said this Madrid team is 'impossible to coach'. They argued that players at the club had too much power and had not always shown enough willingness to improve. Sources both inside and outside the club believe that Madrid need to appoint a director of football. Doing so would mark a difference from the way the club is run currently, with general director Jose Angel Sanchez, chief scout Juni Calafat, and Perez (who is the ultimate decision-maker) responsible for recruitment. Former Madrid player and manager Santiago Solari does have that title, but the Argentine has not had much power since taking up the role in 2022, and his influence has fallen further still of late. Sources involved in the process and with close ties to Madrid have claimed that the club is considering the possibility of bringing in a new specialist to its sporting structure. However, well-placed figures within the club have denied this. The same Madrid sources have also denied that there is an internal power struggle between two factions, one led by Sanchez and the other by the French-Moroccan Anas Laghrari, an external adviser and one of Perez's most trusted confidants. Further sources add that Laghrari has no intention of taking over Sanchez's position. Still, there is a general feeling within the industry that changes at every level at Madrid cannot be ruled out. A training ground source spoke last week of 'confusion among the staff' because of 'rumors that there are going to be a lot of changes', potentially affecting the board, the coach, the medical team, the physios, and the players. Since 2023, Madrid have also been mired in a medical crisis, hit by a high number of injuries that arguably proved decisive in Ancelotti's final season. Disagreements between coaching staff and the physical trainer Antonio Pintus, a figure in whom Perez has always placed the utmost trust, were common at the time. When Alonso arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in May, he brought with him his own trusted fitness coach, Ismael Camenforte, and there was an agreement that Pintus would take a back seat. Injuries continued to be a problem under Alonso, however, and Pintus returned to the forefront as soon as Alonso was sacked. A few days before he was fired, another significant change took place. Croatian doctor Niko Mihic, who had been sidelined in November 2023, again due to tensions over the number of injuries Madrid had suffered, was reinstated as head of medical services. In March, The Athletic reported that Madrid's medical team misdiagnosed Mbappe's knee injury after performing an MRI scan on the wrong leg back in December, an error that affected the Frenchman's recovery process. Meanwhile, proposals for a potential new ownership structure at Madrid - one which would allow outside investment in the club for the first time - do not seem to have progressed in any meaningful way since Perez announced the club was considering it back in November.