Real Madrid have confirmed in an official club statement, that Xabi Alonso has left the club by mutual agreement with immediate effect. This comes after Madrid's 3-2 Spanish Super Cup loss to Barcelona and has sent shockwaves around the footballing world.
The statement read:
""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.Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and 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.""
Xabi Alonso had his men sitting second in La Liga, just four points behind league leaders Barcelona and seventh in the Champions League, winning four of six matches. Real Madrid won 24 of the 34 matches with the Spaniard in charge, and despite a rough patch in November and December, they started to pick things up recently, but ultimately, it was too late for the Spaniard.
Xabi Alonso opting to leave Madrid tells the story
However, according to AS (via ), it was Xabi Alonso himself who asked to leave the club, and he made the decision on his own following the loss to Barcelona. With the mounting pressure on Alonso in recent weeks, the pressure and outside noise may have been too much for the manager to handle.
Ultimately, if that is the case, then maybe Alonso wasn't cut out for the Madrid job from the beginning. Being manager of Los Blancos is arguably the job with the most pressure in world football, and you have to be thick-skinned for the role; it seems the 44-year-old may have been a bit thin-skinned for such a huge role so early into his managerial career.
In the end, giving a coach only eight months to implement his ideas and change a team's culture isn't nearly enough time. Even if the pressure did ultimately get to Alonso, he was finally getting his men back in form, and some of the outside noise surrounding his future started to drop off, and he could have easily stuck it out till the summer. What lies ahead for the Spanish tactician is a mystery to us all, but we all wish him the best in his future endeavours.