Alvaro Arbeloa signed as Fulham's new coach

Alvaro Arbeloa signed as Fulham's new coach

Alvaro Arbeloa is the new manager of Fulham after leaving Real Madrid last season. The 43-year-old Spaniard succeeds Marco Silva, who moved to Benfica after his contract ended. This marks Arbeloa's return to the Premier League, where he previously played for Liverpool for two years before ending his career at West Ham. "It is a great honor for me to start this new phase at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London," said Arbeloa. "I feel a great responsibility and am very grateful to Mr (Shahid) Khan and Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me to lead Fulham in the Premier League. I look forward to experiencing the atmosphere at Craven Cottage with the Fulham fans and starting pre-season with the players next week. I am sure we will have an incredible journey together." Fulham co-owner Shahid Khan added: "Alvaro was an original candidate who built an exceptional case to take over as manager through our discussions in June. It quickly became clear that he was the right choice. I am thrilled that Alvaro has accepted the challenge of taking Fulham forward. I have no doubt that our squad, staff and fans will understand what his appointment means for the present and future of our club. Alvaro is, as he puts it, very ambitious. He has spent valuable time with the best players, clubs and methods in football, experiences that will stand him in good stead here at Fulham." Arbeloa comes after a tumultuous time at the Santiago Bernabeu, which saw Real Madrid remain without a title in two consecutive years. Under his leadership, Real were defeated by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and were defeated by bitter rivals Barcelona in the race for the LaLiga title. He was also at the center of several controversies at Real when the club fined international midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni €500,000 (£432,000) each over an incident in training. Striker Kylian Mbappe was also involved in a heated argument with a member of the coaching staff who was refereeing a training match, while defender Antonio Rudiger apologized for another incident in training. Arbeloa was promoted following the sacking of Xabi Alonso in January, having previously coached Real Madrid Castilla. Now he finds himself just a stone's throw away from Alonso, who has taken over neighbors Chelsea. The pair will meet in the first game of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage on August 24th.