Xabi Alonso’s shock exit from Real Madrid leaves a vacancy for someone to step into one of the most lucrative yet perilous jobs in world football.
The Spanish coach was hired from Bayer Leverkusen after a stunning run in the Bundesliga, with the Basque helping to dethrone Bayern Munich and end a run of 11 successive league titles, but managed just seven months in the Bernabeu role as mixed results piled on the pressure.