If you are a Real Madrid fan reading this, you know things are bad and might have very unpleasant feelings and words towards the team. Whereas if you are a rival, you are enjoying every second of it.
Real Madrid have bottled a 5-point lead at the top of the table and are now 4 points behind Barcelona. ‘Xabi Alonso has lost the confidence of the players.’ ‘Vinicius doesn’t feel appreciated’ has been a recurring theme around the club since the El Calsico victory, which feels like a long time back now.
So who exactly is at fault here?
First of all, as always, the media narrative is blown out of proportion. One day, Xabi Alonso has the full backing of the board, and they see him as a long-term solution, and the other day, the same board wants to throw him out based on the next result.
As ruthless as Real Madrid might be, that’s not how it works, but that doesn’t mean Xabi isn’t to be blamed or that he isn’t under pressure.
The Xabi Alonso Problem
🚨 At Real Madrid, they were “tired” of coaches like Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane (friendly management and untouchable hierarchies).
The club wanted to give itself the opportunity to bet on a new generation coach.
Xabi accepted the challenge but remaining true to his… pic.twitter.com/ct37dRHtx6
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) December 8, 2025
This has to be the worst take I have ever heard that Zidane was soft. He took Bale out, Real Madrid’s most expensive signing at that time. He sidelined Vini Jr for months. He almost won an LA LIGA title with an injury-ridden squad with Victor Chust in his backline.
Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t soft; he was the best man manager in the world, got the best out of Benzema, Vinicius, and Jude Bellingham, Won Multiple Champions League despite the board not backing him with signings.
Yes, Xabi Alonso’s methods are different than both of them, and yes, he will need time to implement those, but he has had 6 months with the squad, and some of the players still look clueless. As a fan, I don’t know what kind of football do we play.
You might say Real Madrid is now more of a possession-based team, and they defend well with the ball. Passing the ball sideways from one flank to the other is not defending with the ball; it’s just the players being clueless about what to do with the ball.
We still see the defensive vulnerabilities when Courtois has to make out-of-this-world saves week in week out. Diego Simeone exposed Real Madrid defensively, and they still don’t know how to defend crosses.
Xabi Alonso is yet to figure out what his best 11 is, and part of it is due to the recurring injuries. But questions need to be asked on why Arda Guler does not know if he is an attacking midfielder, a winger, or a pivot, same with Valverde. You cannot keep switching players around the field and then expect them to deliver.
Certain decisions just don’t make sense, completely neglecting Endrick, Gonzalo Garcia, who was the best attacker at the Club World Cup, now barely gets minutes. The best way for Xabi Alonso to get the players to do what he wants is by winning.
The Players
The Majority of Real Madrid’s problems lie here. Because the players are just not performing at the level a Real Madrid player should be.
Thibaut Courtois, Kylian Mbappe, and Eder Militao are the only players who could walk with their heads held high.
🚨 Vinícius to the referee vs Celta Vigo: “More, more reds. Send us all off. Give everyone a red card.”
“You guys are always the same, but we never get away with it. It’s disrespectful that there are only 5 minutes of added time.” @diarioas pic.twitter.com/V0Yr0PTkG5
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) December 9, 2025
Most of the squad lacks accountability. You cannot be complaining about the refereeing decisions when you haven’t given your all in the 90 minutes while you were on the pitch.
The biggest of all worries is that this team lacks leaders in the squad. Zidane had Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, and Luka Modric. Carlo had Benzema, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos, and Nacho.
Now the only senior figure in the squad is Dani Carvajal. Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Jr, and Fede Valverde have been at the club for a long time, yet they don’t feel like commanding figures in the dressing room.
Now, Ronaldo, Ramos, or Modric didn’t become leaders overnight; they suffered, they saw defeats, and that helped them grow as players, because they were accountable for their actions and wanted to give everything for the badge.
We expect the same determination from the current crop of players, but right now it’s lacking. You cannot be putting in subpar performances and pointing fingers at others.
It’s not just the players but the Real Madrid Hierarchy as well. The refereeing in LALIGA has been poor for years, scandalous to some extent, and it needs to be called out, and Real Madrid taking a stand against it is necessary.
But lately it has been a little too much, with the LALIGA TV compilations, the players and the members of the club coming out every time and blaming the referees, while the team itself isn’t doing that great, irrespective of the referring
— Mith Panchal (@mith_53) December 9, 2025
This tweet just sums it up for me.
Eventually, Real Madrid will be back, because that’s what they always do.
