Chelsea FC – The Management Team 2026/27
Here we look at the Chelsea FC Management Team 2026. Who are the people responsible for managing the Chelsea FC squad? The Management team is made up of all types of management including developments, assistants, scouting etc.
There are also a number of former Chelsea players who help run the club. Watch & Bet Here =>
New Chelsea FC Management team 2026
Chelsea’s new management structure for 2026 is headlined by the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager on a four-year contract.
Alonso, who officially began his role on 1 July, has brought his trusted long-time assistants from Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid—Sebastian Parrilla, Alberto Encinas, Benat Labaien, and Ismael Camenforte Lopez.
To ensure continuity, he has retained interim head coach Calum McFarlane, alongside goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts and set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva.
Beyond the coaching staff, the club maintains a large leadership team of five sporting directors, including Laurence Stewart, Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields, Sam Jewell, and Dave Fallows.
With Alonso’s arrival, he has been granted the unprecedented authority to become the sixth member of this sporting directorate, giving him a direct say in shaping the club’s transfer strategy and overall footballing direction.
Xabi Alonso
The Spanish tactician took over as Chelsea head coach in 2025 following a historic unbeaten Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen. Known for his possession-based, proactive football, Alonso has quickly instilled a clear identity at Stamford Bridge. In his debut season, he secured Champions League qualification and reached a domestic cup final. His calm, intelligent leadership has won over the dressing room, and he is now building a young, dynamic squad for sustained success.
Enzo Maresca
The Italian coach joined Chelsea as part of Xabi Alonso’s backroom staff, bringing a wealth of experience from his time managing Leicester City to Championship glory. A disciple of Pep Guardiola, Maresca is renowned for his meticulous tactical work, particularly in build-up play, positional rotations, and high pressing structures. He plays a crucial role in translating Alonso’s philosophy onto the training pitch and is heavily involved in developing Chelsea’s promising young talents.
Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino joined Chelsea just after the departure of Graham Potter who who sacked in April 2023. The Argentine took his team to EFL Cup final but failed to earn Champions League or Europa League qualification. Somehow, they managed to earn Conference League ticket due to their heroics in second half of the league. He was sacked after the season 2023/24.
Graham Potter
Graham Potter joined Chelsea in September after the departure of Tuchel. Club appointed the former Brighton manager, and he remained the manager for eight months but his winning percentage was around 30%. After the loss to Aston Villa following the international break, Chelsea sacked him.
Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel joined Chelsea in the second half of the season 2020-21. He won the Champions League trophy by beating City in the final. Chelsea looked like an improved side next season and finished third in Premier League but he also saw a downfall. Chelsea were the runner-ups in League Cup and FA Cup. He was involved in transfer windows but in September 2024, he was sacked after Chelsea’s defeat in the Champions League.
Frank Lampard
The Chelsea legend took over the managerial role in the summer of 2019 from Sarri and spent almost £250m in the 2020 summer window bringing in talents like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech. He failed to win a trophy for the Blues and was sacked in January 2021 after just 17 months of being in charge.
Claudio Ranieri
The manager who won the league with Leicester City was Chelsea manager more than a decade back when Roman came to power. He however, was not given much time and a failure to win the league saw him lose the job; the first in a long, long line.
Jose Mourinho
The Special One, as he was self-proclaimed, Mourinho changed Chelsea for good, both literally and metaphorically. He made them serial champions but left the club after total domestic dominance as things with Roman were beginning to crack.
Avram Grant
He did a good cover up job but a lack of charisma of being a Chelsea boss meant that he was always on the line. The defeat in the final of the Champions League meant that the job went to his successor.
Luis Felipe Scolari
The dynamic Brazilian boss entertained Chelsea fans but his tactics were overly attacking and unbalanced. Soon the Blues talented squad crumbled and the players lost their faith in the gaffer; which meant only one things, sack goes Scolari.
Guus Hiddink:
The close friend of the Russian oligarch was brought in to save the club from avoiding an embracing end to a flat season. He did brilliantly and had it not been for a completely incompetent and possibly corrupt referee in the Champions League, the Blues would have won the trophy.
Carlo Ancelotti
A highly respected boss, his swaggerish style of football entertained the Bridge in a disciplined manner. He won the league in his debut season scoring a record 103 goals but his failure to match the tally the next season saw him get sacked.
Andre Villas-Boas
The young Portuguese boss had just won it all with FC Porto and people were comparing him with an young Mourinho. However, his reign collapsed rather quickly and he had to leave the club midway.
Roberto Di Matteo
Replacing a boss, taking over a deflated team, he did it all to take the team back to its best, including giving them the much coveted Champions League trophy in a brilliant rear guard and Old Guard act.
However, the next season despite getting talents like Hazard and Oscar, the team could not keep up the form and Di Matteo had to go.
Rafa Benitez
The most unpopular Chelsea boss, the fans never accepted him. He was only interim but did well to win the Europa League and get a top four spot. Was relieved of his duties at the end of the season.
Jose Mourinho
The return of the king as it was thought to be. He came back with a different squad but brought to the club the same tough mentality. With a few adjustments over one season, he won the league in the next.
However, the third season proved to be a horror show as he was shown the door after leaving the Blues reeling out of the top 10 and closer to relegation than to Europe.
Guus Hiddink
Once again brought in as a temporary manager, he managed to steady the ship, only a bit though. Was relieved of his duties at the end of the season.
Antonio Conte
The fiery Italian boss was brought in to revamp the Blues team and boy did he do it. The players adopted to his mentality and won the league in his first season itself.
However, once again the manager was not allowed to make transfer calls, an absurdity followed strictly by Chelsea, and Conte failed to deliver the next season and got sacked.
Chelsea FC Management Team 2026
Chelsea’s management team for the 2026/27 season is headlined by newly appointed manager Xabi Alonso, who took charge on 1 July 2026 following his historic unbeaten Bundesliga campaign with Bayer Leverkusen.
The Spanish tactician has assembled a trusted coaching staff while retaining key figures from the previous regime to ensure continuity.
Overseeing the footballing vision is a robust sporting directorate comprising Laurence Stewart, Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields, Sam Jewell, and Dave Fallows, with Alonso himself granted unprecedented influence in transfer decisions, marking a new era of collaborative leadership at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea FC coaching staff
Chelsea FC First-Team Coaching Staff (2026/27)
| Name | Position | Age | Appointed | Contract Expires |
| Xabi Alonso | Manager | 44 | 1 July 2026 | 2030 |
| Sebastian Parrilla | Assistant Manager | – | 1 July 2026 | – |
| Calum McFarlane | Assistant Manager | – | 2026 (Retained) | – |
| Alberto Encinas | First-Team Coach | – | 1 July 2026 | – |
| Beñat Labaien | First-Team Coach | – | 1 July 2026 | – |
| Ismael Camenforte Lopez | Coach | – | 1 July 2026 | – |
| Luis Llopis | Goalkeeper Coach | – | 1 July 2026 | – |
| Ben Roberts | Assistant Goalkeeper Coach / Head of Goalkeeping | – | 2026 (Retained) | – |
| James Russell | Assistant Goalkeeper Coach | – | – | – |
| Bernardo Cueva | Set-Piece Coach | – | 2026 (Retained) | – |
| Adam Gemili | Sprint Coach | – | – | – |
| Ben Warner | First-Team Analyst | – | – | – |
| Carlo Cudicini | Loan Technical Coach | – | – | – |
| Willie Isa | Player Support & Development Officer | – | – | – |
Note on Coaching Staff: New manager Xabi Alonso brought his trusted team from Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid (Parrilla, Encinas, Labaien, and Lopez).
He also retained several key members from the previous setup, including Calum McFarlane, Ben Roberts, and Bernardo Cueva.
Chelsea FC Board of directors
| Name | Position | Age | Appointed |
| Todd Boehly | Chairman / Interim Sporting Director | 53 | 1 June 2022 |
| Behdad Eghbali | Co-Owner / Director | – | – |
| Jose E. Feliciano | Director | – | – |
| Mark Walter | Director | – | – |
| Hansjorg Wyss | Director | – | – |
| Jonathan Goldstein | Director | – | – |
| Barbara Charone | Director | 74 | – |
| Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE | Director | – | – |
| James Pade | Director | – | – |
| Jason Gannon | Director | – | 20 August 2025 |
Sporting Directors
| Name | Position | Appointed |
| Laurence Stewart | Co-Sporting Director | – |
| Paul Winstanley | Co-Sporting Director | – |
| Sam Jewell | Sporting Director, Global Recruiting | – |
| Joe Shields | Director of Professional Football & Scouting | – |
| Dave Fallows | Sporting Director | November 2025 |
Note on Board: The club’s board is comprised of representatives from the BlueCo ownership group, led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. David Barnard, a long-serving director, retired from the board in February 2026.
Chelsea FC Scouting staff
| Name | Position | Age | Appointed | Contract Expires |
| Laurence Stewart | Co-Sporting Director (Strategic oversight of scouting & recruitment) | – | – | – |
| Paul Winstanley | Co-Sporting Director (Strategic oversight of scouting & recruitment) | – | – | – |
| Joe Shields | Director of Scouting and Talent | – | – | – |
| Sam Jewell | Director of Global Recruiting | 34 | 1 May 2024 | – |
| Dave Fallows | Sporting Director, Football Development | – | November 2025 | – |
| Seyi Olofinjana | Head of Scouting Operations (Africa) | – | 2025 | – |
| Andrew Cousins | Head of Scouting | 39-41 | 1 July 2023 | – |
Note: The scouting department operates under the leadership of the club’s sporting directors. Further details on scouts for specific regions or age groups are not publicly available.
Chelsea FC Medical department
| Name | Position | Age | Appointed | Contract Expires |
| Bryce Cavanagh | Head of Medical Performance / Performance Director | 47 | 1 October 2023 | – |
| Nick Chadd | Performance Manager | 41 | 1 August 2023 | – |
| Richard Akenhead | Performance Manager | – | 1 February 2024 | – |
| Tom Taylor | Performance Manager | 35 | 1 February 2025 | – |
| Jamie Sellers | Performance Manager | 27 | 1 July 2025 | – |
| Elliot Ferguson-Dillon | Fitness Instructor | 30 | 15 November 2023 | – |
Note: The medical department is overseen by Bryce Cavanagh, who was notably placed on the bench during the 2025/26 season to monitor player recovery plans. The club was also reportedly seeking a new Head of Performance Medicine in mid-2026.
Chelsea FC Advisor
| Name/Positions | Age | Appointed | Contract expires |
| Bruce Buck | 76 | 01-Jul-22 | – |
| Advisor of Management |
Chelsea FC Academy coach
| Name | Position | Age | Appointed | Contract Expires |
| Glenn van der Kraan | Academy Director | – | 2024 (as Technical Director); promoted July 2026 | – |
| Dan Hogan | Under-18s Head Coach | – | January 2025 | – |
| Frazer Robertson | Under-18s Assistant Coach | – | – | – |
| Calum McFarlane | First-Team Coach (formerly Under-21s Head Coach) | 40 | July 2025 (as U21s coach) | – |
| Kwamina Ampah | Academy Coach | – | – | – |
| Isaac Badu Da Silva | Academy Coach | – | – | – |
| Heze Grimwade | Academy Coach | – | – | – |
| Jayden Malundama | Academy Coach | – | – | – |
Note: Glenn van der Kraan was appointed Academy Director in July 2026 after serving as Academy Technical Director since 2024. Calum McFarlane moved up from Under-21s to the first-team coaching staff in 2026 and served as interim head coach.
See also…
- Top five players Chelsea should sign
- Chelsea FC managers history
- Chelsea Dressing Room
- Chelsea FC Most expensive player: Chelsea Transfer News today
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