Fulham have appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract.
The former interim Real Madrid boss, 43, succeeds Marco Silva after he agreed to join Benfica.
“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’s candidacy was supported by excellent references from recently re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the Spanish club’s new manager Jose Mourinho, who he played for at Santiago Bernabeu.
The former full-back left Real Madrid at the end of last season and was replaced by Mourinho, who left Benfica. Silva then opted to move to the Portuguese side as Mourinho’s replacement despite contract offers from Fulham.
In an interview last month, Fulham’s vice-chairman said Silva had previously “indicated he wanted to stay” but that “Marco changed his mind” and surprised the board by leaving Craven Cottage after five successful years.
Former Tottenham and Brentford boss Thomas Frank was linked to the Fulham job, while ex-Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was deemed too expensive at £8m before factoring in his salary and staff costs.
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.