Arbeloa

Fulham have appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract.

The former interim Real Madrid boss, 43, succeeds Marco Silva after he agreed to join Benfica.

“It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London,” he said. “I feel a great sense of responsibility and I’m deeply grateful to [chairman] Mr [Shahid] Khan and [vice-chairman] Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League.”

Chairman Shahid Khan said: “Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent quality time around the best players, clubs and methods in the game, experiences which will serve him well here at Fulham.

“Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance. I loved hearing that from Alvaro, as well as his intent on playing attacking football.”

Arbeloa’s candidacy was supported by excellent references from recently re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the Spanish club’s new manager Jose Mourinho, who he played for at Santiago Bernabeu.

The former full-back left Real Madrid at the end of last season and was replaced by Mourinho, who left Benfica. Silva then opted to move to the Portuguese side as Mourinho’s replacement despite contract offers from Fulham.

In an interview last month, Fulham‘s vice-chairman said Silva had previously “indicated he wanted to stay” but that “Marco changed his mind” and surprised the board by leaving Craven Cottage after five successful years.

Former Tottenham and Brentford boss Thomas Frank was linked to the Fulham job, while ex-Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was deemed too expensive at £8m before factoring in his salary and staff costs.

Arbeloa was a youth coach in Madrid before taking over as interim manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso in January.

He led Real Madrid for the last 28 games of the season as they finished second in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.

Arbeloa is keen to bring players with him, including attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, full-back Fran Garcia and forward Gonzalo Garcia.

Arbeloa says he will not be coaching the team next season, amid reports that Jose Mourinho is returning to the club.

Alvaro Arbeloa has confirmed he will leave his role as Real Madrid coach at the end of a trophy-less season.

“Yes,” Arbeloa said at a news conference on Friday when asked to confirm that he would not be coaching the team next season, amid widespread reports that veteran manager Jose Mourinho is returning to the club.

Los Blancos host Athletic Bilbao on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu in their final La Liga match of a turbulent campaign.

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez appointed Arbeloa to replace Xabi Alonso in January.

The Spaniard, Arbeloa, said he would not work as a member of Mourinho’s staff if the Portuguese coach is appointed as his successor.

“Mou has a fantastic technical team, he’s got good people around him, if he comes to Madrid he will come with his team,” said Arbeloa.

“There’s no chance that I would be with him. Then, my future … from Monday I’ll think about that.”

Arbeloa, who played at Madrid from 2009-2016 and later coached there at the youth level, said he hoped this match was a “see you later” rather than a goodbye.

“I hope it’s a see you later… I’ve always considered this my home, I’ve belonged to Madrid for 20 years in various roles,” said Arbeloa.

“It will be my last game this season as coach of Real Madrid; I don’t know if it will be the last game of my life as coach of Real Madrid.

“We never know. I’ll try and enjoy it and try to get the win.”

Arbeloa has also faced criticism from France striker Kylian Mbappe after he was left out of the starting line-up for Los Blancos’ 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.

Mbappe had missed his side’s two previous games, including last weekend’s El Clasico which Barcelona won to secure the league title, with a thigh injury and was whistled by his own fans when he came on.

The World Cup winner has faced scrutiny over his commitment to the club in recent weeks while an online petition calling for ‘Mbappe Out’ attracted tens of millions of signatures.

But the manager played down the incident on Saturday.

“I’ve just bumped into him, I told him to stay calm. I understand that these kinds of things make headlines, but it’s something much more normal than you think,” Arbeloa said.

“I used to be a player, I know what they can feel in these situations – playing every day, then playing less or not at all.

“I totally understand that Kylian wasn’t happy about not playing on Thursday, and I like that.

“I wouldn’t understand it if he didn’t want to play. My relationship with him remains the same.”