Fulham have appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract.

 

The ex-Real Madrid boss has signed a three-year deal at Craven Cottage to become Marco Silva’s successor after the Portuguese left for Benfica following the expiration of his Fulham deal.

 

Arbeloa departed Real Madrid in May and was replaced by Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu last month.

 

“It is a real honour for me to be embarking on this new stage at Fulham FC, the oldest club in London,” he said. “I feel a great sense of responsibility and I’m deeply grateful to [chairman] Mr [Shahid] Khan and [vice-chairman] Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me with Fulham in the Premier League.”

 

Chairman Shahid Khan said: “Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent quality time around the best players, clubs and methods in the game, experiences which will serve him well here at Fulham.

 

“Alvaro also has great interest in our academy set-up and believes in giving young players a chance. I loved hearing that from Alvaro, as well as his intent on playing attacking football.”

 

Arbeloa was a youth coach in Madrid before taking over as interim manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso in January.

 

He led Real Madrid for the last 28 games of the season as they finished second in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.

 

Arbeloa is keen to bring players with him, including attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, full-back Fran Garcia and forward Gonzalo Garcia.