Image Credits: Imago Images
The Santiago Bernabéu has become a pressure cooker in recent weeks, with Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso facing mounting speculation about his future at the club. What began as whispers in Spanish media outlets has now escalated into full-blown crisis talks, and Wednesday night’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City has only intensified the scrutiny surrounding the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder’s position. Alonso’s honeymoon period at the Bernabéu appears to be well and truly over. Despite taking charge only in May 2025 after replacing the legendary Carlo Ancelotti, the 44-year-old finds himself fighting for his managerial life just six months into what was supposed to be a fresh era for Los Blancos. The defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City marked yet another disappointing result in what has become an alarming run of form, with Real Madrid managing just two victories from their last eight matches across all competitions.
It does feel like Xabi Alonso and Arne Slot’s futures could be intertwined. In the build-up to the City defeat, was asked if he would ever return to the Premier League and left the door open to his “former club”: “For sure, it’s something to consider with the English clubs, with my former club. But for now, this is the place that I want to be, and in the future, you never know what can happen.” Now Spanish reporter Guillem Balague, speaking on CBS Sports Golazo, has claimed that the defeat does not mean Alonso will be sacked: “It gives him a bit more time,” the journalist said. “It wasn’t a bad defeat. He was never going to be sacked here unless they lost 5-0 against City.”
“But they need to reply and show the performance they had today against Alaves at the weekend, if they do that, they may have turned a corner. But the problem is a deep problem which is to do with the culture of the club, players are not so happy with the methods, with the structure, with far too many demands. He’s still on the edge.It’s game by game. We know there was a meeting with the board after the Celta defeat about the future of Xabi Alonso.” The circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s defeat were particularly damaging. Alonso was forced to field a severely depleted squad, missing up to eight key players including star striker Kylian Mbappé, who was sidelined with knee discomfort. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Eder Militão were also unavailable due to injuries sustained in previous matches.
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