Pochettino Eyes Real Madrid Job With Bold Eight-Player Overhaul Plan; Mbappe Throws Weight Behind Former PSG Boss

Real Madrid face another managerial reshuffle, with Alvaro Arbeloa's tenure at the Bernabéu crumbling under the weight of a torrid campaign. The former Liverpool defender took over from Xabi Alonso in January but has overseen a collapse that saw the club lose seven of their last 22 matches across all competitions, crash out of the Champions League, and surrender La Liga to Barcelona.

With Arbeloa's position looking increasingly untenable, the Spanish giants are scouring the market for a new boss. Jurgen Klopp, long mooted as a potential successor, has reportedly ruled himself out of contention, clearing the path for other candidates to emerge.

Enter Mauricio Pochettino, the USA manager and former Tottenham, Chelsea, and Southampton boss. Spanish reports now identify him as a genuine dark horse in the race to take over at the Bernabéu. The timing suits Pochettino well—his World Cup duties with the Americans are concluded, and while he has been linked with a return to Spurs, Roberto De Zerbi's appointment there has seemingly closed that door.

What tips the scales in Pochettino's favour is a powerful endorsement from within the Madrid dressing room. Kylian Mbappe, who worked alongside Pochettino during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain, is understood to have recommended his former manager for the role.

During preliminary discussions with Madrid, Pochettino has sketched out an ambitious blueprint for reconstruction. He wants five players to leave, paired with three strategic arrivals—a world-class centre-back, a creative midfielder capable of orchestrating play, and a right-winger to complete an attacking triumvirate alongside Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

On the exit front, Pochettino views Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, and Dani Carvajal as candidates whose expiring contracts should not be renewed. Beyond those three, however, come the genuinely contentious calls: Aurélien Tchouaméni and Éder Militão would also be shown the door. Both players have been sacrosanct under Arbeloa, Carlo Ancelotti, and Xabi Alonso—making their potential departures particularly explosive.