Bournemouth confirm Andoni Iraola replacement as Cherries issue statement | Football | Sport

Bournemouth have named Marco Rose as the man to succeed Andoni Iraola at the helm. The German has put pen to paper on a three-year deal at the Vitality Stadium. Rose will officially take the reins in the summer, though the agreement has been reached early to enable both the incoming manager and the club to prepare for next season, following Iraola’s confirmation that he qill be departing.

The Spaniard revealed last week that he will leave the Cherries when his contract runs out at the end of the campaign, drawing the curtain on a highly successful three-year tenure. Iraola steered Bournemouth to 12th place in his debut season, registering a then-club record of 48 points. The Cherries finished ninth last season with a record haul of 56 points, while also progressing to the FA Cup quarter-finals. Despite their desire to keep the Spaniard at the club, Bournemouth had anticipated this outcome and have wasted no time in securing his replacement as part of their long-term vision.

The club’s statement read: “AFC Bournemouth is delighted to confirm the appointment of Marco Rose as the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract, which will begin following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season. The 49-year-old arrives on the south coast with a wealth of experience at the highest level of European football, having managed Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig.

“The club’s immediate focus remains firmly on finishing the current campaign as strongly as possible, with the players and staff continuing to show full commitment to achieving positive results and building on the current 13-game unbeaten run.

“Everyone at AFC Bournemouth looks forward to welcoming Marco to Vitality Stadium as he begins his role as head coach in the summer.” Rose has been without a club since his dismissal by RB Leipzig in March 2025.

Bournemouth currently occupy eighth place in the Premier League table, level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea, in the midst of a remarkable 13-game unbeaten run.

Iraola has been linked with a return to former side Athletic Bilbao, as well as the vacancy at Manchester United. However, speaking last week, he was adamant that his decision to leave Bournemouth was “not about any other club”.

He said: “The decision was not about any other club. There has been no other club involved, it was about continuing here or not continuing here.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next season. I don’t know if I’m going to coach a team, a club, coach a national team, coach in this continent, I’m not going to coach. I have no idea what’s going to happen.

“I don’t have any rush to know it. I’ve taken a big decision for me now in this moment. Now I want to focus on what will happen in these six games. It’ll be massive for us. There’s going to be time to think, if we have to think, on something else.”

Before he added: “It has been a decision that has taken me a lot of time to take, it hasn’t been a clear decision. Always during this process, this season, I’ve been talking to the club about the situations, they were very aware this could happen.

“There is not always one main reason. The decision I’ve taken is because probably I don’t want to risk the feeling I have right now of satisfaction of these three seasons. You try to envision yourself in a possible fourth season, a possible fifth season and everything costs more.

“We as human beings get tired of watching the same phases. I suppose I decided this was the right moment to put an end to this journey that for me has been really special.”