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Getty/GOAL'We're with him to the death!' - Jude Bellingham hails Xabi Alonso's 'very positive' influence at Real Madrid and insists problems are 'invented' and 'blown out of proportion'
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Protect 14 devices with the top ExpressVPN plan
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's top-tier Express Pro plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
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Over 28 monthsSave 67%
Protect 10 devices with high-speed VPN
Basic
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's entry-level Basic plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.
Over 28 monthsSave 80%
Advanced protection across 11 devices with high-speed VPN
Advanced
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 100MB/month private email relay plus 50 shared aliases and a custom domain, and ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator.
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Over 28 monthsSave 73%
Getty Images SportPerspective on the season
The narrative of a "crisis" at Real Madrid is often only one bad result away, regardless of the wider context. Bellingham was keen to inject a dose of reality into the conversation, listing the club’s current competitive standing as evidence that the season is far from the catastrophe some are making it out to be.
While acknowledging that the team has experienced "ups and downs" during the current campaign, he urged fans and pundits to look at the cold hard facts before calling for heads to roll.
“We have to see where we are now: in a Super Cup semi-final, four points off the leader in La Liga and in the top eight of the Champions League,” Bellingham argued. “No disaster, for me. Being Real Madrid, everything is exaggerated when things aren't quite right, but we want to be better.”
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AFPDecisions 'way above' the players
Ultimately, Bellingham acknowledged that the noise surrounding the manager’s future is par for the course at a club of Real Madrid’s stature. While he was adamant that the players are fighting for Alonso, he conceded that the power to hire and fire lies elsewhere.
“In the dressing room we are all united, the coaching staff and the players,” he reiterated. “Those decisions [about the manager's future] are taken way above me.”
For now, the focus is strictly on the pitch. Real Madrid are in Saudi Arabia to contest the Spanish Super Cup, a trophy that team-mate Vinicius says could serve as a turning point for their season. A piece of silverware in January would go a long way to silencing the critics and validating Alonso’s project. Conversely, a defeat would likely turn the volume on the "invented" problems up to a deafening roar.
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