Named: The ‘five players – including Jude Bellingham – who are not happy with Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid’: Report claims ‘rift’ is open over ‘controlling’ manager… despite being top of LaLiga!
Claims of a rift between Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso and his players are growing louder, with five stars thought to to be unhappy with their new manager, according to reports in Spain.
Although the Spanish serial winners currently sit top of LaLiga with a defiant win in the first El Clasico of the campaign just weeks behind them, speculation over unease at the Bernabeu has stalked Alonso’s first few months at his new side.
The former Bayer Leverkusen manager joined the club he played for during his on-pitch career this summer, but Alonso has failed to win hearts in the same way as former coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane did during their respective spells in the dugout.
As per Mundo Deportivo, among those who are struggling to work well with Alonso are Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Jnr, and England prodigal Jude Bellingham.
All three of the players are believed to have issues with the manager’s tactics, specifically his desire to play the ball out from the back.
Vinicius Jnr has appeared visibly frustrated with his manager at various points of the season, most recently clashing with Alonso after he was substituted off during the side’s clash with Barcelona.
Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso is thought to be at odds with a number of his stars
Among those who are believed to be uneasy with Alonso’s way of playing are Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jnr
But despite issuing an apology to his ‘team-mates, the club, and its president’ for his conduct on the sidelines, Alonso was a notable omission from Vinicius’ public silence-breaking.
Along with the Brazilian, Bellingham, and Courtois, Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde are also thought to be unhappy with Alonso, having failed to secure a starting berth in his preferred XI.
Both players have instead been forced out of position at times to make it into the team, with midfielder Valverde recently stepping up at right back over injured captain Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
As well as in competitive action, Alonso has set the cat among the pigeons in training too, with Daily Mail Sport reporting at the end of last month that the head coach believes he has stepped into a dressing room replete with bad habits.
Alonso is thought to be demanding in terms of what he expects from his players in training, utilising video analysis, drones, and detailed tactical plans to force focus from his stars.
However, the Spanish outlet stressed that some players preferred the looser approaches of Zidane and Ancelotti – both of whom saw their approach validated by winning multiple Champions League titles.
Real Madrid have been defeated just once this season – against Liverpool in European action – and drew 0-0 for the first time on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano.
But their performance against Premier League opposition raised major question makes in the Spanish press, with one outlet suggesting that Real Madrid were not ready to compete in Europe.
Thibaut Courtois is thought to have an issue with Alonso’s tactics, while Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde are feeling cast out
‘The match Real Madrid played at Anfield last season made it clear that the team wasn’t ready to compete in Europe, something Arsenal proved months later,’ a report in as suggested.
‘A year later, the test at the same venue, against an opponent now under scrutiny for their recent defeats, leaves behind the impression that Real Madrid’s current competitive level hasn’t evolved enough, especially regarding the players’ attitude with and without the ball. The style has changed, but not the effectiveness.
‘Now we can talk – the players themselves, led by Valverde, did about their attitude with and without the ball, something obvious, but the reality is that Real Madrid and their style don’t mesh well with just passing the ball around.
‘Without movement up front, having possession is of little use, and that’s something Xabi Alonso still hasn’t managed to instill in the players.’
Bellingham’s discontent with Alonso’s set-up comes on the heels of his call-up to join Thomas Tuchel’s England set-up, after months on the outside over perceived issues with his team spirit.
‘He’s had an amazing reaction (to exclusions) performance-wise,’ Tuchel said in his first press conference of the international break. ‘We are always here to help and support and be stable for him.
‘He is still young. You feel like he is 26, 28, but he is a very young player. We want to provide a stable environment for him.’
