As the 2024/25 Champions League season winds down to a close and the quarterfinals draw nearer, the coaching carousel is only just beginning, with Juventus already making a high-profile move.
Here are five clubs that were in the Champions League this season that could have a new manager by the time the year 2026 begins.
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti has won three Champions League titles as Real Madrid manager and two LaLiga trophies to boot, but it feels like his time as the club’s manager is finally winding down to a close.
We’ve sang this refrain before, only for Ancelotti to win the double and keep his job, but with the consistent lack of ideas and defensive instability, there’s a prevailing belief among Real Madrid fans that now is the time to pull the trigger on a coaching change before things can really get out of hand.
Real Madrid finally have a proven, elite-level, tailor-made replacement with strong ties to the club in Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who orchestrated an undefeated season in 2023/24 and has been solid again in 2024/25.
Quietly, Leverkusen have returned to Bundesliga title contention, and if Alonso can go out on top, now may be the best time for him, personally, to take the next step and fill the shoes of a manger he once played under during Real’s “La Decima” triumph.
AC Milan
AC Milan already made a midseason coaching change when they swapped Paulo Fonseca for Sergio Conceicao, but it’s not like Conceicao has been any less disappointing than Fonseca.
In truth, neither manager should have been hired in the first place, and although there was discontent with Stefano Pioli, the Italian coach did deliver Milan their return to the Scudetto in 2021/22 and was clearly a better man manager than either Fonseca or Conceicao.
Just as much of a dumpster fire as his predecessor, Conceicao has barely been hanging on, in large part to the fact that Milan already fired a coach. It’s hard to envision Conceicao lasting as Milan’s manager into 2026, and it’s time the Rossoneri started hiring actual proven coaches at the top level.
RB Leipzig
Although RB Leipzig are now within three points of a top-four position in the Bundesliga, Marco Rose is still very much on the hot seat after leading the club to an embarrassing performance in the Champions League.
Rose has rubbed fans in Leipzig the wrong way, just as he did at Borussia Dortmund, where a common complaint was that his attitude didn’t mesh well with the culture of the club.
He was phenomenal at Borussia Monchengladbach due to Max Eberl’s strong recruitment, but even with a quality squad in Leipzig, Rose has been unable to take the team to improved heights. It would be a surprise if Leipzig continued with him for long.
Juventus
Even though Juventus just fired Thiago Motta after less than a full year on the job and replaced him with Igor Tudor, it’s unlikely the journeyman Serie A manager will last long in Turin.
Juve have been going with too many experimental hires and even brought Max Allegri back, but this team isn’t going to get anywhere close to its previous heights until the folks from above change seats.
The Bianconeri are suffering from a serious identity crisis, and Tudor is nothing more than a stopgap option. They need to start hiring established, top names with proven track records instead of throwing inexperienced managers into unwinnable situations, or, worse yet, hiring retread coaches. Antonio Conte, for example, is not the solution.
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen were undefeated last season and are still in title contention for next season with arguably the most respected young manager in the world right now in Xabi Alonso, so why do they make this list?
Well, it is simply because Alonso is too good. The former midfielder is wanted by Real Madrid at the very top of their list, so even though Liverpool and Bayern Munich are off the table with their own sporting projects after hiring up-and-coming managers last summer, the Merengues are very much in the picture.
And they may be wanting Alonso even more this coming summer, especially since hiring Alonso could help them bring in Florian Wirtz. They may not need another playmaker like Wirtz, but they wouldn’t say no to one of the biggest young talents in the world.
More to the point, Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t have many years left at the top. While I wouldn’t write off Don Carlo coaching Real for a couple of more seasons, Florentino Perez has usually operating under the notion that it’s better to make a move one year too soon than one year too late.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.