Xabi Alonso arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2025 as the prodigal son, the former player returned to lead Los Blancos back to the summit of Europe where they belonged.
Instead, his time at the Bernabeu lasted only six months, as the 44-year-old failed to establish authority, his tenure riddled with discord and inconsistency.
In the days since Alonso was officially dismissed, there have been a number of post-mortems detailing what went wrong for the much-admired midfielder turned coach. One of the most common threads is a disconnect with Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr, whose discontent with Alonso became an open secret.
AllSportsPeople details what went wrong between two key figures at Real Madrid, how it led to Alonso's departure, and why that fractured relationship was far from the only example of strife as Alonso attempted to build connections with the players he would be leading.
After Vinicius played 90 minutes in a humiliating 3-2 Copa del Rey loss to Albacete in the first match after Alonso's hasty exit, there are certainly plenty of issues to sift through.
MORE: The latest Real Madrid team news and injury updates ahead of their next match
What happened between Vinicius Jr. And Xabi Alonso
Vinicius's outburst after being substituted during the October's Clasico showdown with Barcelona was the first indication that things were amiss between manager and superstar, but it was far from the only example of the rift that reportedly divided the two.
In the 72nd minute, while seeing his number of the fourth official's electronic board, Vinicius threw a tantrum, shouting “Always me! I’m leaving the team, it’s better if I leave, I’m leaving."
The Athletic describes this moment as "the tip of the iceberg," detailing "growing tensions" between Vinicius and his head coach.
An Athletic report in the aftermath of that incident said that Vinicius was one of three senior players at Madrid to be "unconvinced" by Alonso's methods both in-game and between matches, but claimed that Vinicius was "at the centre of the situation, as well as the fallout."
While Vinicius reportedly met with Florentino Perez to discuss his on-field actions in the Clasico win, his subsequent public apology did not name Alonso or refer to the coach in any way, which was received by the fanbase and media as intentional.
The Athletic reported that Vinicius believed Alonso was "not being fair to him," and while specific reasons as to why were not mentioned, it is assumed that the Brazilian felt his reduction in minutes was a personal slight.
In the coach's defence, Alonso always rotated his players during his time at Bayer Leverkusen, even his most important gamechangers like Florian Wirtz. In the modern era of football, such treatment is required to keep players in full fitness and available across an increasingly lengthy and bloated schedule.
Did Vinicius Jr. Get Xabi Alonso fired?
While there is no reporting that explicitly states Vinicius lobbied to have the manager sacked, or played any role in the decision to part ways with Alonso, there may be a tertiary relationship between the pair's strained relationship and the coach's dismissal.
In the days following Vinicius's on-field outburst in El Clasico, The Athletic reported separately that Vinicius was hesitant to discuss an extension to his contract while the relationship between himself and Alonso remained strained.
Thus, it can be surmised that the coach's departure could have, in part, been potentially related to this situation.
The Brazilian's contract expires in the summer of 2027, meaning he is approaching the final year of his current deal.
Xabi Alonso struggled to connect with Real Madrid players
According to various reports, Vinicius Jr. Was far from the only Real Madrid player to struggle connecting with Xabi Alonso while he remained in charge of Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde were purportedly among the key Madrid players who did not "believe in" the coach's methods, even as others like Kylian Mbappe, Arda Guler, and Aurelien Tchouameni were behind him.
Other reports out of Spain mentioned that Alonso's involvement in training was an issue for a number of senior players.
When AllSportsPeople visited Leverkusen during Alonso's time in Germany, it was noticeable how involved the Spaniard was in Bayer training. He took part in drills with the players, and openly exclaimed later to AllSportsPeople in a media roundtable how he felt he was still the best passer in the squad.
This was a beloved leadership quality at the Bundesliga side, but the same mentality was not received well at Real Madrid, according to reports. The Madrid players were used to Carlo Ancelotti's nonchalant approach to training, as the Italian often left the sessions to his assistants.
One report from Marca cited an outburst where Alonso openly questioned his team's effort during training, exclaiming "I didn't know I was coming to coach a nursery!" The BBC reported that Alonso felt "alone" at Real Madrid, with nobody behind him.
While the players frequently went out partying during Ancelotti's reign, Alonso reportedly put a halt to much of their merriment, while restricting access to entourages he deemed problematic.
As you can imagine, all work and no play made the players at Europe's most glamorous club unhappy, and that spelled trouble for the coach in his efforts to achieve harmony and togetherness.