Real Madrid gives in to the players and fires Xabi Alonso

Even though it was announced, leaked and widely publicised, Xabi Alonso's departure from Real Madrid was no less humiliating than that of Julen Lopetegui or Rafa Benítez. Florentino Pérez has the same profile and modus operandi, dismissing each and every one of the coaches he has signed during his years as president. He is not a figure with whom he agrees. He prefers to pay stars and let them play, but the rules impose a coach on him whom he tends to hold in low esteem.

Alonso's departure had been in the pipeline long before the defeat to Celta at the Bernabéu. Perhaps his departure was more noticeable on that day, but even before that, the Real Madrid president was already hinting in the stands that the Tolosa-born coach was boring the players with long videos and too much tactics. And he was not wrong, because his tactics had fallen on deaf ears in the dressing room. It was too much for a group of players accustomed to the left hand of Ancelotti or Zidane, where they were the ones who played the football.

Carreras, Huijsen, Güler and Gonzalo were the only ones who could close ranks with Alonso. The rest were children of another era, with Vinicius as their spiritual leader, the player who dared to criticise his own substitution loudly and threaten to leave if they continued to substitute him. That reaction went unpunished for the Brazilian, the club remained silent, Xabi swallowed it and the dressing room got the message. Earlier, Valverde had already openly asked not to play at full-back in a haughty manner, claiming that he had earned a place in midfield as a contemporary of Modric, Kroos and Casemiro. And you had to read between the lines when Courtois commented that not all his teammates were happy, ‘some because they don't play and others because they play in another position’.

Xabi's professional demise was telegraphed from within the club. José Ángel Sánchez was able to convince Florentino Pérez to sign the former Real Madrid player as a coach, but no one can do anything when the Real Madrid president gives the thumbs down and passes judgement. There is no time, no confidence, no firm hand with the dressing room. His commitment is and always will be to the players, and Vinicius has been winning every battle with his own club for years, to the point of denying Carlo Ancelotti the award for best young coach in 2025 because he did not win the Ballon d'Or. Alonso's attitude as the club's representative in the press room is also a negative point.

His flat discourse in the early days became increasingly drawn out, and he ended up looking like Xavi Hernández when he sat down in front of the press to try to convince those present of his team's supposedly good performance on the day they lost at Anfield. His servile stance towards the club in the Negreira case and his sidelining of Vinicius sealed his fate with the fans, who wanted him as coach and saw him as the key to more Champions League titles. 

That character of a guy who gets kicked in the chest in the middle of a World Cup final or who takes the decisive penalty on the day Liverpool come back against Milan in the Champions League final is what Real Madrid needed. But they found a coach with a certain complex about wanting to please everyone in order to maintain a coexistence that had been broken since the day he pressed play and the summary lasted more than 30 seconds.

The players have won. They no longer have the coach who made them press high up the pitch or train certain uncomfortable tactics. Now they have their best friend, with whom he joined forces to support Mourinho in the midst of the Madrid civil war. And Arbeloa has a bitter pill to swallow if he wants to sit on the best bench in the world for more than a month. A look back is enough to remember that Solari went through that stage between Zidane and Ancelotti's second spell. Little is remembered of that other than the Argentine's poor relationship with Isco. 

Arbeloa's fate will be decided by the players. There is plenty of quality to avoid losing any games between now and the start of the World Cup in June. Even without a game plan, the squad knows how to compete and win because Vinicius will score goals again, Bellingham will step into the box, Valverde will be tireless once more and Camavinga will lose the bitter look on his face of someone who seems to be not getting paid on time.

Real Madrid does not belong to its members, it belongs to the players, and the president has allowed this since the year he left the chair, devoured by a spoilt squad. Over time, it can be said that he has not done badly in hiring ego managers and firing brainy tacticians, but staging these media circuses in the middle of the season is not acceptable.

Alonso will return to winning ways and manage a team of players who understand his approach to football. In the Premier League (Manchester United are without a manager), in Italy (Juventus need to reign again) or in Germany, once again. His talent has been proven and he just needs committed players and a club with common sense.