Arbeloa Confirms Exit from Real Madrid as Mourinho Expected to Return

Alvaro Arbeloa walked into the press room already knowing the question that mattered most. The answer came quickly.

"Yes," he said, when asked if he would no longer be coaching Real Madrid next season.

On Saturday, Los Blancos face Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu in their final La Liga match of a turbulent campaign. For Arbeloa, it will be more than a season finale. It will be a farewell, at least for now, set against the growing expectation that Jose Mourinho is about to walk back through the front door.

Florentino Perez turned to Arbeloa in January, handing the former defender the reins after Xabi Alonso’s departure. It was a move that leaned on club identity and loyalty, a Madridista entrusted with steadying a shaken dressing room. Now, just months later, he is preparing to step aside, with Portuguese veteran Mourinho widely expected to reclaim the post.

Arbeloa made one thing crystal clear: if Mourinho returns, he will not be part of the backroom staff.

"Mou has a fantastic technical team, he's got good people around him, if he comes to Madrid he will come with his team," Arbeloa said. "There's no chance that I would be with him. Then, my future... from Monday I'll think about that."

No drama, no clash. Just a clean line drawn. Mourinho travels with his own trusted circle; Arbeloa will not be an accessory appointment.

For the Spaniard, this weekend carries a heavy emotional weight. A former full-back for the club between 2009 and 2016 and later a coach in the youth ranks, he has lived most of his professional life inside Real Madrid’s walls.

"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," he said, speaking less like an outgoing coach and more like a lifelong member of the family being asked to step out of the house for a while.

"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."

That is the immediate task: one more match, one more team talk, one more night under the Bernabeu lights. The backdrop may be dominated by Mourinho’s expected return and the shifting power lines at the club, but Arbeloa’s focus, at least publicly, remains fixed on Athletic Bilbao and finishing a chaotic season with a victory.

From Monday, his future becomes a different conversation. For now, Real Madrid’s bench prepares for one last game with a man who has spent two decades serving the badge, knowing that the next chapter is already forming behind him.