Xabi Alonso’s story begins as a success story in all aspects. The Spanish footballer began his career as a key player for massive football clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid, where he had no issues adding to his trophy cabinet. After his 18 year career as a player he took on a managerial role in the sport, notably coaching German team Bayer Leverkusen to a Bundesliga (German league) victory and an unprecedented 51 game unbeaten streak. After his victories in Germany as a tactical mastermind, he earned the move many football managers can only dream of, transitioning to, inarguably, the greatest club football team of all the time, Spanish giants Real Madrid CF. 

With the club of his dreams, Xabi Alonso, was widely successful. So why then, just seven months into Real Madrid tenure, did Alonso “mutually” part ways with the club? Aspects of the club’s culture and its locker room personalities answer this question.

Put simply by current coach Álvaro Arbaloa, Real Madrid’s goals every season are “winning, winning, and winning again.” Fans and board members of the club alike do not just desire victory, they believe that they deserve it. Anything less is not enough.

Throughout its history, Madrid’s pursuit of trophies has almost never been hampered by financial issues nor realistic expectations and their ambition is spurred on by an illustrious legacy of gold medals and victory parades. Overall, Madrid has a relentless, uncompromising winning culture that puts an insane amount of pressure on its players and its managers. It is precisely because of this culture that many believe that the club creates a toxic working environment for servants of the club at every level. This is just one of the clear issues with Real Madrid’s management structures. 

Recently, it seems that the club’s venomous culture has crept its way from the boardroom to the locker room with egotistical and unsportsmanlike traits on the rise. The sport of football, ever since it got fully commercialized, is no stranger to massive personalities, ludicrous outfits, and unchecked arrogance. However in recent years it seems that Real Madrid has been providing more and more of a platform for these vain footballers. We will be taking a closer look at some of the key personalities that play at the Bernabeu. 

Brazilian professional footballer Vinícius Júnior is a brilliant player for “Los Blancos”: a direct winger full of tricks, skills, assists, and goals that constantly provides for his teammates and the club. As talented as he is, Vinícius has shown to be a problematic character in Madrid’s changing room, having thrown reported tantrums and uncontrolled outbursts. In the past, his actions have been completely warranted and were mainly a result of racist fan narratives. Now though, his tantrums seem to be a result of him not getting priority over other players. Vinícius, who was not as thoroughly favored by Xabi Alonso in the starting 11, got less playing time and was sometimes taken out of the match at game defining moments. As a result, the Brazilian constantly butted heads with the new manager, causing a deeply harmful conflict in the locker room and leaving Real Madrid in a weaker spot overall. 

Another important personality in Madrid’s locker room is French professional Kylian Mbappé. Widely considered as the best footballer in the world right now, Madrid higherups splashed nearly $195 million on the established French prodigy. His sheer talent, unreal goal catalogue, and unmatched skill in all attacking positions is unquestionably insane. But, many feel his attitude leaves a lot to be desired. When he became a bonafide superstar, Mbappé showed an unusual ability to clash with leadership and was often criticized for not performing his defensive duties. He has shown that he has not put his attitude and his old habits to rest at Madrid. Mbappé, much like Vinícius Júnior, butted heads with former coach Xabi Alonso. The focal point of this conflict arrived after a somewhat humiliating loss to league rivals FC Barcelona in the final of the Super Copa de Espana. After their loss, Alonso tried to organize a traditional guard of honor for the victorious rivals. However, Alonso’s efforts were interrupted by the French player, who gestured for fellow players to leave without the customary act of sportsmanship. In a shocking turn of events, the players listened to Mbappé, showing the true extent of the damage to the club’s locker room culture

Now with Xabi Alonso leaving the club, many fingers not only point to problematic players like Vinícius and Mbappé, but also Real Madrid’s culture as a whole. In the future, it is likely that nothing will change. Madrid will continue to splash money on flashy players instead of focusing on tactical stability just in the pursuit of more glory and gold.