LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Chelsea have appointed Xabi Alonso as their new manager on a four-year contract starting in July, the Premier League club said on Sunday as they tasked the Spaniard with reviving their fortunes after a turbulent and trophy-less season.
The 44-year-old Spaniard's appointment comes a day after Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup final, ending the London club's hopes of salvaging a disappointing campaign with silverware.
"Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club," Alonso said in a statement on the club's website.
"From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition."
Alonso will look to steady the ship after a turbulent season in which the club dismissed two managers -- Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior -- with the latter sacked in April after a run of seven defeats in eight matches across all competitions.
With two Premier League games left, five-time Premier League winners Chelsea are ninth in the table although still have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe.
"We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies," Alonso said.
The move also marks a return to English football for Alonso, who racked up 210 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009 and later ending his playing career with Bayern Munich in 2017.
PROVEN MANAGERIAL PEDIGREE
After retiring as a player, Alonso began his coaching career with Real Madrid's youth academy and later managed Real Sociedad's reserve team.
He rose to prominence as a manager at Bayer Leverkusen, where he took charge in 2022 and guided the club to a historic unbeaten Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 campaign, along with the German Cup and a run to the Europa League final.
That success earned him a return to Real Madrid as head coach, though his spell was reportedly affected by internal tensions, including clashes with several senior players such as Federico Valverde and Vinicius Jr.
He was sacked by Real Madrid in January, less than eight months after taking charge.
As a player, the former Spain international made 236 appearances for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2014, winning LaLiga, two Copa del Rey titles and the club's 10th European Cup.
He also made 114 appearances for the national side, finishing his international career with a World Cup trophy and two European titles.
CHELSEA SEEKS STABILITY
Alonso becomes the fifth permanent appointment under Chelsea's big-spending BlueCo ownership, following Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Maresca and Rosenior.
This season began with Chelsea as FIFA Club World Cup champions but after a reasonable start it unravelled into poor form amid managerial upheaval and fan protests.
Chelsea have spent 1.8 billion pounds ($2.40 billion) on signings since BlueCo took charge in 2022 but there has been little sign of consistent progress.
Fans' group Not a Project staged a protest against the running of the club before Saturday's Wembley showpiece.
It will now be Alonso's task to try and mould a team capable of re-establishing themselves at the top of the Premier League.
"There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club," Alonso, who had been linked with a possible return to Liverpool, said. "Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies."
Current caretaker manager Calum McFarlane will continue in his role until the end of the season with a home game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Tuesday.
($1 = 0.7507 pounds)
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Martyn Herman in London; Editing by Jamie Freed, Peter Graff and Christian Radnedge)
