Real Madrid to sack Xabi Alonso after failure to fix three glaring issues

Numerous sources all state Real Madrid will sack Xabi Alonso if they fail to earn a positive result against Manchester City on Wednesday night, and a fresh report has uncovered the three issues that have put the Spaniard on the brink.

News broke on Monday of Real Madrid holding an emergency meeting among senior club officials that centred on whether or not to fire Alonso . A host of Spanish outlets including El Mundo and Marca verified the meeting took place, as did The Athletic .

Ultimately, opinion amongst the hierarchy was split and Alonso clung to power for now. However, all outlets have reported Real Madrid’s upcoming Champions League clash with Man City is expected to be Alonso’s final match in charge if a positive result isn’t achieved.

That means City boss Pep Guardiola – who remains despised in Madrid thanks to his history at Barcelona – could haunt Real once again by being directly responsible for a managerial change at the Bernabeu.

And according to a fresh update from The Athletic , three issues in particular are responsible for Alonso being on the brink. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he’s been ‘powerless’ to remedy any of the three.

They stated: ‘Madrid still have the same problems as last year — a defence prone to injuries, a lack of discipline running through the squad and, most importantly, big stars not consistently showing enough commitment to the collective.’

Real Madrid were rocked when Eder Militao – described as ‘easily Madrid’s best and most important defender’ – went off injured in the crushing 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Militao is expected to miss around four months of action after tearing his hamstring and joins fellow defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal, Dean Huijsen and David Alaba in the treatment room.

But while Alonso is largely blameless for the persistent injuries to defenders, he could have remedied the lack of discipline within the squad.

Vinicius Jr made headlines with his tantrum when substituted in the 2-1 victory over Barcelona earlier this season. The report noted how Real Madrid and Alonso curiously chose NOT to discipline the player, who was straight back in the starting eleven next time out.

It is not an entirely dissimilar situation to the one over at Anfield right now involving Mohamed Salah. Liverpool have opted to omit Salah from their squad to face Inter Milan on Tuesday night and the expectation is he won’t be considered for selection for the clash with Brighton next weekend either.

Furthermore, the report noted how too many Madrid players are allowed to jog rather than run when tracking back.

When touching on Celta’s second goal, they added: ‘Replays showed how easily Celta passed the ball through Madrid’s lines, as Arda Guler, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni jogged back without getting close to any opponent.’

Additionally, the club’s obsession with blaming referees was highlighted as further evidence of the lack of discipline rampant within the squad.

One player who will be glad to see the back of Alonso, however, is Vinicius Jr.

The Brazilian has made it clear he won’t engage in contract extension talks with Real Madrid while his relationship with Alonso remains broken .

Alonso’s removal from the equation will likely bring Vinicius and his camp back to the negotiating table.

However, The Athletic insisted that in the short-term, Alonso’s immediate successor would be Alvaro Arbeloa .

The former right-back, 42, is the current manager of Real Madrid’s B team.

Arbeloa’s management style has left a positive impression on key decision-makers at the club and the belief is he has a stronger personality than Alonso that will lend itself better to managing the giant egos in the first-team dressing room.