Xabi Alonso reportedly accused his players of behaving like they were in a ‘nursery’ in one training session at Real Madrid, sparking his downfall.
The manager is said to have ‘exploded’ at his stars in early November, with the relationship already at ‘breaking point’ two months before he was sacked.
Alonso was relieved of his duties on Monday just seven months after joining amid widespread rumours of a dressing room rift, though Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe have sought to paint things in a more positive light.
Spanish newspaper MARCA claim that Alonso had already ‘begun to leave’ Madrid in November at the time of his rant.
The outburst came as a ‘cry of desperation, of weariness, and almost of boredom’ as he grew ‘annoyed’ at how players were not meeting his tactical demands. Alonso was unable to impose the aggressive pressing system that had defined his Bayer Leverkusen team.
Moreover, MARCA reports that a ‘buzz’ around Alvaro Arbeloa began to circulate in the dressing room long before he was appointed as Alonso’s successor.
Xabi Alonso reportedly accused his Real Madrid players of behaving like they were in a ‘nursery’ in a furious rant in November that sparked his downfall
Players reportedly grew ‘uncomfortable’ with the level of tactical demands placed on them
Spanish outlet Marca claims that players began to like Alvaro Arbeloa several weeks ago
Arbeloa was manager of Madrid’s B team and a frequent presence in senior training sessions.
Under Alonso, the elite stars reportedly found tactical sessions ‘excessively demanding’ and complained about an information overload, even becoming ‘uncomfortable’ as several coaches bombarded them with instructions.
His rant in November is said to have ‘opened a wound that would never heal’.
Alonso had a hard time convincing the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior to buy into the collective ethos which worked so well at Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, Madrid have lacked the control in midfield that Toni Kroos and Luka Modric used to bring.
Alonso was sacked just seven months into his tenure and fewer than 24 hours after losing 3-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The 44-year-old had come under increasing pressure due to rumours of a rift with some players, and a reported misalignment with the board over tactics.
He did not have a particularly bad record. Madrid are still in the LaLiga title fight and sit seventh in the Champions League league phase.
One moment that betrayed his lack of power came after the Super Cup final, where Alonso wanted his players to do a guard of honour for Barcelona, but Mbappe refused and eventually the manager backed down.
Jude Bellingham has rubbished Spanish reports claiming that he fell out with Alonso
Mbappe has since said it was a ‘pleasure’ to work with Alonso.
Meanwhile, Bellingham has hit back at suggestions he fell out with the sacked gaffer.
‘Until now l’ve let far too many of these slide, always hoping the truth will come to light in its own time,’ Bellingham began, posting on his own app. ‘But honestly… What a load of s***.
‘Truly feel sorry for the people that hang onto the every word of these clowns and their “sources”. Do not believe everything you read, every now and then these lot need to be held accountable for spreading this kind of damaging misinformation for clicks and added controversy.’
