'Real Madrid will never' – Xabi Alonso bluntly told why he was destined to fail as Los Blancos manager

Less than 24 hours after Madrid lost a dramatic Spanish Super Cup final to rivals Barcelona, Alonso is no longer in charge of Los Blancos. The former Leverkusen boss was only at the helm for just over seven months, despite the Spanish giants coveting his signature for a long time. Madrid said this was a "mutual decision" and that Alvaro Arbeloa, the club's B team coach, will succeed Alonso for the time being. 

The exit statement read: "Real Madrid CF announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his time as first team coach. Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home. Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time, and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives.

"Real Madrid C. F. announces that Alvaro Arbeloa is the new coach of the first team. Alvaro Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025, and has spent his entire career as a coach in the Real Madrid youth academy, since 2020. He coached the Infantil A in the 2020-2021 season, proclaiming himself league champion, the Cadete A in 2021-2022 and the Juvenil A from 2022 to 2025. As coach of the Juvenil A, he won the treble in 2022-2023 (League, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) and La Liga in the 2024-2025 season."

Former Valencia star Gaizka Mendieta has suggested that Alonso's style of play and high pressing style was never going to work at Madrid because nobody has deployed that sort of approach before at the club. While those tactics worked at Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, it didn't pay off at Los Blancos. 

He told CasinoStugan: "Obviously, we know how Xabi used to play with Bayer Leverkusen and what he wanted to do at Madrid. Personally, I don't think we saw the style that Xabi Alonso wanted. We didn't see that at Real Madrid with any managers. What I mean is, again, judging from what we saw at Leverkusen, he wants a compact team that goes and presses high and defends together. I have never seen that at Real Madrid, ever. The team will always break at some point during the games."

In the wake of Alonso's exit, with Madrid currently four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, top scorer Kylian Mbappe thanked the Spaniard for his help this season. 

In an Instagram story, he wrote: "It's been short but it was a pleasure to play for you & learn from you. Thank you for giving me the confidence since Day 1. I will remember you as a manager who had clear ideas and knows many things about football. Best of luck for your next chapter."

And teammate Arda Guler heaped praise on Alonso for believing in him right from the start. He also wished him well going forward. 

He wrote on Instagram: "Xabi Alonso, Thank you for believing and trusting in me from the first day. Every conversation, every detail, every demand helped shape my game and push me to a higher level. I'm truly grateful for everything you added to my journey. Your faith in me made me a better player. Wishing you and your staff nothing but success in what comes next. Your impact will always stay with me."

While Alonso takes some time away from the game, Liverpool icon John Arne Riise believes the former Reds midfielder will be managing at Anfield in the future. He also, however, feels the same for former team-mate Steven Gerrard, despite his relative lack of success in management by comparison.

He said, "I'm certain that Xabi Alonso will manage Liverpool one day. There are just certain managers, people that you would like to have in your team as a manager. And he's one of them, Steven Gerrard is one of them, which would give everybody a boost. But at the moment Stevie G is waiting for his next project that would suit him. In years to come, I'm quite sure either Gerrard or Alonso or even both might be manager of Liverpool Football Club."