By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 11:50 BST, 25 May 2025 | Updated: 11:50 BST, 25 May 2025
MADRID (AP) - Xabi Alonso is returning to Real Madrid to take over a club that failed to meet expectations this season.
The Spanish powerhouse announced the hiring of Alonso on Sunday to replace Carlo Ancelotti, who is leaving to take over the Brazil job. Alonso will take over on June 1 and will be given a contract through June 2028, [the club said](https://www.realmadrid.com/es-ES/noticias/club/comunicados/comunicado-oficial-xabi-alonso-25-05-2025).
The 65-year-old Ancelotti is departing after four mostly successful seasons with Madrid. He bid his farewell in the team´s final match of the Spanish league season against Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday.
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AP soccer: [https://apnews.com/hub/soccer](https://apnews.com/hub/soccer)
Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso waves to the fans before the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund in Leverkusen, Germany, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)