Welcome to an extra bonus edition of Inside Real Madrid, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
Every week, we bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.
Throughout this week, the biggest talking point has undoubtedly been Xabi Alonso’s future. The Real Madrid manager is under a great deal of pressure after a series of poor results, disappointing performances and turbulence off the pitch.
Wednesday night’s 2-1 home defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League means they have only two wins from their past eight matches in all competitions, and his position was already in serious danger. Here, The Athletic explains the latest.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at Madrid, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the latest on Alonso’s position?
Despite the loss against City, Alonso’s dismissal was not seriously considered last night.
The display was enough to earn him a reprieve, but — as was the case following Sunday’s home defeat by Celta Vigo — none of the club sources consulted for this article would confirm that he will stay in charge regardless of the outcome of this weekend’s game.
A disappointing performance and defeat against 11th-placed Alaves in La Liga on Sunday would set off all the alarm bells.
Any decision to fire Alonso would come down to Madrid’s board, led by club president Florentino Perez. They have already considered different names as potential replacements, with reserve team manager Alvaro Arbeloa, 42, highly regarded.
Some voices also point to the special relationship between president Perez and Zinedine Zidane, although a move for him is unclear at this point. The Frenchman has been out of work since his second spell as Madrid boss ended in 2021. In recent weeks, sources close to the 53-year-old have spoken of his desire to take charge of the France national team next.
Madrid president Florentino Perez, pictured in November (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Madrid hierarchy is concerned about the team’s situation and the manager’s difficulties in finding the right path. However, Alonso is not seen as the only one to blame. For that reason, and because of how damaging a change of manager so soon would be for the project, they would prefer to keep him, if results allow.
Alonso was only appointed as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement in May. His debut season started with 13 wins from 14 matches, but since November 1 they have won only two out of eight.
Alonso and his coaching staff ended Wednesday’s match frustrated. They felt they had missed an opportunity to change the dynamic, but now hope to see more from the team, following signs of an improvement in attitude and football.
Those closest to the manager admit that recent weeks have brought a great deal of difficulty and pressure, from inside and outside the club, but they take it in their stride as they expected this when they signed for Madrid. They say all they can focus on is working hard towards the progress they were hired to achieve.
What’s the mood like in the dressing room?
The atmosphere is one of nervousness. The players are aware that what they are doing is not enough. One player told The Athletic last night that the team felt “screwed” by the result, adding: “We did well considering how we were doing. This team is not dead.”
When Alonso was hired, he arrived with the Madrid hierarchy’s blessing to impose more discipline. However, his new methods and ideas led to a rift with a sizeable section of the dressing room.
That relationship has improved over recent weeks and, although it is still far from perfect, several players came out in his defence yesterday in front of the media.
Rodrygo went to celebrate his opening goal against City with Alonso (Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press via Getty Images)
While those messages had a certain political undertone, there was also a willingness to bridge the gap.
Alonso has made some concessions following criticism from the group recently, such as reducing the number and length of analysis videos players are asked to study. He also gave the team two days off as a reward for last Wednesday’s 3-0 victory at Athletic Club, something that did not go down well at the club after the shambolic 2-0 home defeat by Celta Vigo that followed on Sunday.
Asked whether the relationship with Alonso had now improved, another player told The Athletic last night: “I think so, maybe it’s a matter of time. It’s clear that we’re not in the best situation, but if we play like we did against Athletic or City, we can compete.”
How did the fans react at the Bernabeu?
The Santiago Bernabeu has a reputation for being the most demanding stadium in world football, in terms of the fans’ readiness to criticise underperforming players.
The mood was one of outright hostility after the Celta loss on Sunday night. During yesterday’s Champions League meeting with City, there was less anger.
There were boos and whistles during certain moments of the game in reaction to certain passages, but there was no major display of opposition after the final whistle.
Individually, the main target was Vinicius Junior, who was booed multiple times when he received the ball. The Brazilian 25-year-old has been at the centre of much of the past month’s drama and against City he missed two good chances.
In late October, he informed Perez he did not feel it was in his best interests to renew his contract while his relationship with Alonso remained so strained. His current deal expires in June 2027.
What can we expect to happen next?
The situation is tense, and Madrid are also going through something of a selection crisis.
They will travel for the Alaves match in Vitoria-Gasteiz with several key absences, in addition to the uncertainty surrounding Kylian Mbappe, who was on the bench against City but was clearly not fit.
They have eight first-team players injured and three suspended. It makes a difficult situation more complicated still.
One club source put it like this: “We’re playing for our lives, and how can we not be playing for our lives? We’re Real Madrid and we can’t lose so much.”
