Following Real Madrid's sacking of Xabi Alonso, shockwaves were felt throughout the footballing world but especially among the club's fan base. Fans have been taking to social media to express their opinions on the decision and where they think things went wrong and who shoulders the blame for the shortcomings.
We've seen some say the recent poor form is what cost Alonso his job, but for the most part, the majority of fans agree that the players played their part in the manager losing his job and a change with some of the players is what was needed, not a change in manager.
This news has brought out all kinds of Real Madrid fans giving their opinions on the board's decision, including one of the most famous names in combat sports, former UFC Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib has more sense than Real Madrid board after calling players ‘spoiled brats’
In a post on his Instagram story, the UFC legend and die hard Real Madrid supporter let his opinion be known on the sacking of Xabi Alonso and the players and the board shoulder more of the blame than the manager. Khabib went on to say:
"If you come into a gym or onto the pitch, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a fighter or a footballer — the head coach is in charge. But if the atmosphere inside your team doesn't allow everyone to follow your instructions, then you're definitely not on the right path.Khabib Nurmagomedov
I believe Alonso is among the top 3 coaches in the modern game. If a team doesn’t work with him, you need to change the players, not the coach.
I’m convinced no coach can cope with such a squad at Real. You need to get rid of the irregular players."
The former UFC Lightweight Champion has hit the nail on the head perfectly and if there's anyone who knows about discipline it's Khabib, if he says the players attitudes are the problem maybe, just maybe, people should listen. We saw it on a number of occasions during Alonso's short tenure where the players attitudes directly undermined the coach causing issues that in the end were unfixable for the Spaniard.
We saw it with Vinicius Jr against Barcelona when he was substituted, we saw it with him again against Oviedo when he was benched and most recently we saw it with Kylian Mbappe following the Spanish Super Cup final loss, going against the manager's request to give Barcelona a guard of honor.
And that is exactly what Khabib is saying, when the atmosphere in the team is one of disobedience and not listening to the manager, who is the man in charge, then there has to be changes in players to bring the locker room together and unite around the manager and his philosophy.