Real Madrid managerial search: Los Blancos 'eye' 58-year-old as Alvaro Arbeloa's replacement

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri has reportedly emerged as a leading candidate to become the new Real Madrid manager at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

Alvaro Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm towards the start of January, but the 43-year-old is highly unlikely to be handed the job on a permanent basis.

Real Madrid have lost four of their 12 matches under Arbeloa, including a 1-0 defeat to Getafe on Monday night, with the result leaving them second in the La Liga table, four points behind the leaders Barcelona.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Los Blancos are considering Allegri as their next head coach, with club president Florentino Perez looking for an experienced manager to navigate the team during what is a transitional period.

Allegri 'on Real Madrid's radar' ahead of summer

Allegri started his managerial career back in 2003 and is currently in his second spell in charge of AC Milan, returning to San Siro in 2025.

The 58-year-old guided Juventus to five Serie A titles during his time in Turin, while he also lifted the Italian championship in his first spell in charge of Milan.

Allegri's Milan side are currently second in the Serie A table, 10 points behind the leaders Inter Milan and four ahead of Napoli in third.

The Italian's contract with Milan is due to run until the end of the 2026-27 campaign, but he could potentially be leaving the Italian club this summer.

Arbeloa insisted after Real Madrid's defeat to Getafe that the capital giants would not "throw in the towel" and would continue to fight for the La Liga title.

Arbeloa has found it tough as Real Madrid manager

“There are 36 points left and we have no other goal but to fight to earn the 36 points. Nobody here is going to throw in the towel," Arbeloa told reporters.

"This is Real Madrid and nothing is given up until the last match. Obviously, four points is a gap we believe we can close, and that's what we will fight and work for, starting with the next match in Vigo. This is Real Madrid and nobody here is going to give up.

“I see that we have great players, a great squad, and players who will recover and help us a lot. Our goal is to keep improving and to know that we can do better on the pitch.

"I understand the perception after a loss like this, but whether we’ve played poorly, worse, or okay, I think we played a match where we deserved to score more goals than Getafe.

"It didn’t happen. They played the game we knew they would play, scored a great goal, and we didn’t take advantage of our chances.”

Real Madrid will continue their La Liga campaign away to Celta Vigo on Friday evening before welcoming Manchester City to Bernabeu next week for the first leg of their last-16 contest in the Champions League.