Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid by mutual agreement.
The club thanked Alonso on their official website, calling him a Real Madrid ‘legend’. While this may be true, and Alonso was well-loved as a player, waters were choppy and complicated during his reign.
Real Madrid are an extremely demanding club. The most important thing may be to manage the players and their egos, compared to other clubs that want to see gorgeous football played.
Los Blancos sit four points off top spot in La Liga, which is far from disastrous with plenty of football left to be played. However, there was always a feeling of dressing room tension.
Be it the falling out then making up with Vincius Junior, or Alonso’s authority being undermined in the Spanish Super Cup final. But you cannot forget the spectacular job that Alonso did at Bayer Leverkusen.
So Alonso won’t have to wait too long to find a new role, if he so wishes. The question is, where could Alonso go?
In this article we’ll cover
Dream: Manchester City
Manchester City have dominated the Premier League under Pep Guardiola. They have the financial might to attract most players and for now, there seems to be no severe punishment in regards to their charges.
It could be difficult to predict when Guardiola will leave as he tends to change his mind depending on how the season goes.
But with reports of Enzo Maresca having conversations with Man City emerging off the back of him leaving Chelsea, it’s clear that the Citizens have succession planning in mind.
So Alonso may take a break and wait for Guardiola to build, and perfect, this Man City team before handing over the reins. Guardiola’s contract ends after the 2026-27 season and he has said he could see it out, or manage Man City until he is 75.
At some point, however, Man City will discuss extending Guardiola’s contract or looking towards potential replacements. It would be foolish to ignore Alonso.
Realistic: Liverpool
There is a degree of sentimentality with Alonso and his previous affiliation with Liverpool.
The midfielder made 143 appearances for Liverpool during his time in England, only 15 fewer than he racked up for Real Madrid.
Alonso scored the crucial penalty in the 2005 Champions League final, completing the comeback to make it 3-3. And frankly, Arne Slot has not yet shown that he can get the best out of the newly-formed Liverpool attack.
The expensive purchases and much-needed refinement of the Liverpool squad have unsettled the team. And the Reds look blunt in attack. On numerous occasions, Liverpool’s buildup has come to a standstill with players uncertain on how to progress into attack.
Although Liverpool are on an eight-game unbeaten run, there have been a fair few draws, and the Reds’ issues are still glaring.
Alonso would make Liverpool dynamic in attack, and flexible in possession. Although they aren’t a club known for chopping and changing managers, they could turn to a fan favourite should Slot continue to struggle.
Wildcard: Manchester United
Manchester United have been plunged into disarray. Ruben Amorim left the club after fallings out with the hierarchy, for many reported reasons.
The Red Devils have appointed Michael Carrick on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. And they’ve made it clear that they will look to appoint a new manager in the summer.
This is mainly a wildcard pick because Alonso is a former Liverpool player. But Man Utd remain one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of stature, reach, and history.
Every manager in the Old Trafford dugout has struggled to replicate the success of Sir Alex Ferguson. But that hasn’t stopped the job being attractive. And many managers believe they can be the one to restore the club’s previous glories.
It’s clear that Alonso is manager who wants to stamp his authority on the dressing room, irrespective of whether there are superstars in it or not.
The Man Utd dressing room never stopped playing for Amorim. And they could benefit from Alonso’s experience of successfully building a team with a back three.