Real Madrid has officially announced that it has mutually agreed with head coach Xabi Alonso to end his tenure at the club.
"According to sources close to Alonso’s coaching staff, the manager made it clear to the club during the final meeting that led to his dismissal: Players should not be given so much power. He regarded this as the main problem he encountered during his tenure at Real Madrid—the club made him feel isolated and helpless.
He was astonished by the defensive stance he witnessed, where 'the club always sides with the locker room'. This undermined his authority. The club accused him of 'being unable to control the locker room' because of this, but he argued that when the club always favors the players over the coach, it is impossible to take charge of the locker room even if the coach is justified in competitive decisions.
Today has been a tough day for him. People close to him said that he returned after Christmas thinking he could continue coaching, thinking there was still a way to turn things around. Even in the last week of December, he saw some 'turning points' that made him believe he could lead the team to compete for the title in the second half of the season. But he now realizes that everything had actually been decided long ago. His final days in Saudi Arabia were more of a torment than focusing on the games."
