Fulham have appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract.
The former Real Madrid coach, 43, will take over from Marco Silva after he agreed to join Benfica.
“I’m honored to be entering this new phase at Fulham, London’s oldest club,” he said. “I feel a huge responsibility and am deeply grateful to (chairman) Mr (Shahid) Khan and (vice-chairman) Tony Khan for the trust they have placed in me at Fulham in the Premier League.”
Chairman Shahid Khan said: “Alvaro is, by his own admission, very ambitious. He has spent a lot of time with the best players, clubs and methods of play and that experience will stand him in good stead here at Fulham.
“Alvaro is also very interested in building our academy and believes in giving young players a chance. I was pleased to hear that from Alvaro and his commitment to playing attacking football.”
Arbeloa’s candidacy was supported by excellent reviews from the recently re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the Spanish club’s new coach Jose Mourinho, for whom he played at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former defender left Real Madrid at the end of last season and was replaced by Mourinho, who left Benfica. Silva then decided to join the Portuguese side as a replacement for Mourinho, despite contract offers from Fulham.
In an interview last month, the Fulham vice-chairman said Silva had previously “made it clear he wanted to stay” but “Marco changed his mind” and surprised the board by leaving Craven Cottage after five successful years.
Former Tottenham and Brentford manager Thomas Frank was linked with the Fulham job, while former Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was considered too expensive at £8 million before his salary and staff costs were taken into account.
Arbeloa was youth team coach at Madrid before taking over as interim coach following the departure of Xabi Alonso in January.
He led Real Madrid in the final 28 matches of the season, finishing second in La Liga and being eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.
Arbeloa is keen to bring players including attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono, defender Fran Garcia and striker Gonzalo Garcia.