MADRID — Álvaro Arbeloa confirmed what many in Spain had taken for granted for weeks — he won't be Real Madrid's coach beyond Saturday's final game of the season.
When asked in a press conference Friday if the La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao would be his last, Arbeloa simply said, "Yes."
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
The writing had been on the wall since January, when he was promoted from the club's reserve team to replace the fired Xabi Alonso. The team failed to win a trophy under his guidance: Madrid lost to a second-division opponent in the Copa del Rey in Arbeloa's debut, exited the Champions League quarterfinals to Bayern Munich, and will finish second in La Liga to Barcelona.
Spanish media report that the club is seriously considering bringing back José Mourinho for a second stint, 13 years after he first coached Real Madrid. Mourinho has been at Benfica this campaign and said he will decide his future soon.
Arbeloa, 43, said he will seek "new challenges" after his first major coaching job. "I have already made the leap, improved greatly over these four months, and I feel prepared for new challenges," he said. "Starting Monday, I will think about them."
Saturday's match will also mark the farewell for two veteran defenders whose contracts are expiring. Right back Dani Carvajal, 34, has helped Madrid win six Champions Leagues since 2013, while the 33-year-old David Alaba contributed in two of those European Cup conquests since arriving in 2021.
An end and a beginning
The interim label was always going to be temporary. Arbeloa walked into a job that few would want mid-season, and the club now has the summer to plot a different direction. The question was never whether he would stay — only how graceful the exit would be.