Xabi Alonso Leaves Real Madrid: 5 Shocking Reasons Behind the Exit

Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid as the club releases an official communique this evening, 12th January 2026.

The former Bayer Leverkusen manager left Madrid on mutual agreement after their disappointing 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de España.

Abeloa takes charge as his replacement with immediate effect as their real mission continues for the rest of the season.

The former Spain and Real Madrid full-back has been promoted from coaching Real’s B team.

Alonso moved to Real Madrid in a 30 million euro deal in 2009 and spent 5 years as a player for the White Angels.

During his time at Real Madrid, he won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, and one Champions League title, making his footprint as a club legend.

The Spaniard returned to the club as a replacement for Don Carlo Ancelotti, and after just seven months, he left by mutual agreement with no trophy to his name this time.

The Official Club Statement: “Real Madrid CF announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his time as first-team coach,” the statement from the club read.

“Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend that has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.

“Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives.”

Reasons Why Xabi Alonso Left Real Madrid.

Since Xabi took over as the head of the Los Blancos, he’s been reportedly facing difficulties managing some of the superstars like Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappé, and Rodrygo.

Xabi believed that the players at his disposal were not ready to adapt to his style of play, which made him successful at Bayer Leverkusen. Here are the 5 notable reasons why Xabi decided to call an end to his tenure at Madrid.

The 3-2 Super Cup Defeat to Barcelona.

The final whistle in Jeddah didn’t just signal a 3-2 defeat for Real Madrid; it signaled the end of the Xabi Alonso era before it ever truly began.

Losing your first major final as head coach is painful, but losing it to your  bitter-rivals, Barcelona, after a chaotic late goal by Raphinha was a blow to the Madrid board, and President Florentino Perez simply couldn’t ignore it. 

Raphinha broke the deadlock in the 36th minute, giving Barca the leading advantage towards the break, but Vinicius Jr. found the net in the 45+2, and Lewandowski renewed Barca’s hope 2 minutes later, but Gonzalo Garcia scored in the last seconds of the first half to bring the game to a level pegging.

But in the second half, Raphinha managed to get his second, making the scoreline (3-2) in the last minutes of the game, which saw Barcelona lift the Supercopa de España for the second time in a row.

This defeat didn’t sit well with President Perez, and losing two finals  in 2 seasons is the last thing he would have ever dreamed of. 

Loss of Control in the Dressing Room

A major factor was the reported ” misunderstanding” between Alonso and his star players. 

Reports surfaced  online after their defeat to Liverpool in UCL that Xabi is struggling to get  the best out of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé.

There have been a series of reports that the relationship between Xabi and his star players is not good. And as a result, it leads to below-par performances from his boys.

The most visible sign of this was in Jeddah, where Mbappé reportedly ignored Alonso’s order to form a guard of honor for Barcelona after the defeat, showing a clear lack of authority in the dressing room.

Inconsistent Results and Dropping 2nd in the La Liga Table 

While Alonso started perfectly with six straight wins, his form dipped significantly starting in November 2025. 

A  5-2 thrashing by Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid earlier this season raised unnecessary attention around his team and tactical approach. 

Madrid has fallen 4 points behind Barcelona in La Liga and is struggling in the Champions League as well with on-and-off performance.

Aside from results, his style of play and his inability to even dominate “easy” games made the fans call the shots on him.

Tactical Friction and the “Missing Link”

At a time in Real Madrid, Alonso seemed to be beating about the bush due to his unfamiliar tactical approach to the Real Madrid players.

His time at Bayer Leverkusen was really fun, as his team was seen as one of the best in Europe, playing high-tempo, front-foot football.

His intention was to bring that same style to Santiago Bernabéu, but some key figures in the club weren’t ready to adapt to his system.

Egos was described as the key stumbling block to Xabi Alonso’s inability to implement his style of play at Real Madrid.

Because of this, Madrid during games looked disjointed and always found it difficult to match high-tempo football when they met teams that played as such.

The “Mutual Agreement” and Legend Protection

Both the player and the club didn’t want to make his exit a public topic, and so they labeled it as a mutual agreement.

With a total of 6 trophies, including the famous La Decima in 2013/2014, he is a legend of the club, and his reputation needs protection.

Do you think it’s a wrong decision my Real Madrid to part ways with Xabi Alonso mid-season? Drop your comments below