Alonso Sacked at Real Madrid as Mendieta Questions Fit
Xabi Alonso
January 2026
Real Madrid ended Alonso’s tenure by “mutual agreement” and installed Arbeloa as interim; Mendieta said Alonso’s high-press approach was never going to work at Madrid. Mendieta argued Madrid historically do not sustain compact, high-press defending across matches, so Alonso’s Leverkusen-style system failed to translate and the team “broke” during games.