Why Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid spell ended in disappointment
Updated On: 14 January, 2026 09:14 AM IST | Mumbai | Ronan Carvalho
Xabi Alonso’s short-lived spell as Real Madrid coach unravelled amid heavy defeats in big games, dressing-room ego clashes, tactical inconsistency and a lack of trust in young talent. Despite arriving with pedigree after a historic spell at Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso struggled to impose authority and clarity at Madrid, leading to his exit
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An animated Xabi Alonso during Real Madrid’s 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid recently. Pic/Getty Images
Major losses
One of the key reasons behind Xabi Alonso’s departure was the embarrassing losses that Real Madrid suffered in major matches. Even before the recent 2-3 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, Alonso’s team were thrashed by Paris Saint-Germain 0-4 in the Club World Cup, routed by Atletico Madrid 2-5 in the league, beaten 1-2 by Man City in the Champions League (UCL), and 0-1 by an out-of-form Liverpool in the UCL.
Big egos, big mess
Real Madrid is a club renowned for its global superstars that prowl their hallowed turf. But with superstardom comes big egos, and unfortunately for Alonso, he couldn’t control that in the dressing room. Clear evidence of this is the Vinicius Jr fiasco during Real’s 2-1 win over Barcelona in October. The Brazilian was left fuming after his early substitution and stormed off straight to the locker room. But instead of punishing him, Alonso simply restored Vinicius to his near undroppable status in the team. Even in the most recent Super Cup loss, skipper Kylian Mbappe appeared to defy Alonso’s authority when the coach asked his team to form a guard of honour for Barcelona.
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