Xabi Alonso appointed Chelsea manager on four-year deal

LONDON, MAY 17: Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso as the club's manager on Sunday on a four-year deal from next season with the Spaniard the latest coach tasked with turning around the club's fortunes.
The Blues lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City on Saturday and lie ninth in the Premier League with two games of the campaign to go.
Alonso rose to prominence as one of Europe's brightest coaches by guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German league and cup double in the 2023/24 season.
However, he lasted just seven months in the Real Madrid hotseat. Appointed last year, he departed the Spanish giants in January.
"Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager of the men's team," Chelsea said in a statement.
"The Spaniard will begin his role on July 1, 2026, having agreed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge."
Chelsea did win the Club World Cup and the UEFA Conference League last year but have little else to show for well over one billion pounds ($1.35 billion) of spending on players since US consortium BlueCo took over in 2022 following Roman Abramovich's trophy-laden ownership of the club.    �"AFP