Xabi Alonso’s long-term assistant coach Sebastian Parrilla is one of four members of his Real Madrid backroom staff who are set to join him at Chelsea.
Assistants Alberto Encinas and Benat Labaien, plus fitness coach Ismael Camenforte Lopez are also expected to move to Stamford Bridge with Alonso.
Interim head coach Calum McFarlane is set to remain at the club and be part of the new manager’s backroom staff. Chelsea set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva and goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts are both also expected to stay on under Alonso.
Alonso gave the Madrid backroom staff an extensive refresh upon his appointment last summer and there remains a possibility that he could bring more coaches to Chelsea.
The 44-year-old was appointed Chelsea manager on Sunday on a four-year deal. The job marks his return to management after being sacked by Madrid in January. All four coaches departed Madrid alongside Alonso at the beginning of the year.
The former midfielder has worked with Parrilla since the beginning of his coaching career, dating back to the pair taking charge of Madrid’s under-14s in 2018.
Parrilla had spent two decades working in Madrid’s academy, before joining Alonso at Real Sociedad’s B team in 2019, and then Bayer Leverkusen, where they guided the club to their first Bundesliga title in 2023-24 after going the entire domestic campaign unbeaten.
The Athletic reported in June that Alonso relies on Parrilla in particular for defensive work and set-pieces.
Encinas is a former coach at Barcelona’s La Masia academy, who first worked with Alonso during his successful spell at Leverkusen before he brought him to Madrid.
Labaien joined Alonso at Madrid, returning to the club where he worked in the youth set-up between 2011 and 2014. A video analyst and assistant coach, he has also had spells at Atletico Madrid, Leeds United, Real Sociedad, Al Wakrah and Real Zaragoza, in addition to a stint in charge of Japanese side Tokushima Vortis in 2023.
Camenforte Lopez first worked with Alonso at Leverkusen, before joining him at Madrid as the club’s head of fitness preparation. His focus was on the style of play of Alonso’s teams, planning players’ loads and on-pitch work. He previously spent eight years at La Masia, followed by spells at New York City and Denmark’s national team.
McFarlane moved to Chelsea from Southampton in the summer of 2025 as Under-21 coach, and has had two spells in interim charge this season following the departures of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
The 40-year-old confirmed on Monday that Alonso has been in touch with him since Chelsea officially announced he is the club’s next permanent manager on Sunday morning.
“I haven’t spoken to him, but I’ve had a brief conversation with him via text yesterday,” he said in a press conference. “I’ll keep that private, but (it was) mainly just around the final.”
Alonso will not officially start work until July 1, but McFarlane has revealed the players have reacted very positively to the news.
When asked if he has noticed the players are excited about Alonso coming in, he replied: “Yes, everyone has been excited. He’s had a really good career so far. Won major trophies, a great playing career. He will have a lot of respect from everyone.
“He is a great coach, with a massive pedigree. We are all looking forward to working with him.”
Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday and midfielder Romeo Lavia is a doubt after picking up a minor injury in training last week which caused him to be left out of Saturday’s FA Cup Final.
