A few hours earlier, Xabi Alonso was officially presented as the new Real Madrid manager. It is an incredible feeling to see Alonso's trajectory from being an important midfielder to becoming a trusted manager.
In the first meeting with the press ahead of his appointment, the manager sent many positive signals that Real Madrid fans are absolutely enjoying. They are delighted to know the ambitions Alonso is going to work with and the approach he is going to employ.
The manager also talked about several players. He gave an opinion on Rodrygo, who has had a terrible season with Real Madrid and was rumored to be close to leaving the club in summer.
"He's a Real Madrid player, and we're going to have a conversation with all of them because they deserve it. He's a spectacular player, and we'll need him.", said Alonso when asked whether he has spoken with the Brazilian forward.
Xabi Alonso seems to have a plan for Rodrygo's future at Real Madrid
Rodrygo was plainly awful this season. He helped way too little when he was needed the most. He was the most vulnerable in the forward line and was easily exploited by the opposing side.
He was frequently isolated, playing a minor role in Madrid's offense, which was largely led by Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. during the season. And because of all of these flaws, he was anticipated to be ousted by Madrid. Manchester City and Arsenal have been reported to be interested in signing him.
However, Xabi was always regarded as the one person capable of improving his circumstances. The Spaniard is a new manager who brings a very flexible and innovative approach to the game. His style will be considerably different from Carlo Ancelotti's, and he appears to have put more trust in Rodrygo for the upcoming season than Los Blancos or Ancelotti did.
Of course, Rodrygo still has much to prove. He needs to reinvigorate himself, which appears to be a difficult task. It will be interesting to see how Xabi devises a plan to accommodate Rodrygo in his system.