Former Liverpool defender and football expert Jamie Carragher has stated that Xabi Alonso's dismissal from Real Madrid was primarily due to a disagreement with Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior.
Carragher highlighted that Alonso imposed strict tactical demands on the star-studded attacking line of Los Blancos, insisting that Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe engage in active pressing, aggression, and relentless tracking back:
There has been a lot of talk about how Xabi played with five defenders at Bayer, and what he might do at Chelsea. But at Real, he used a back four— a 4-3-3 formation. He demanded that players like Vinicius Junior and Mbappe be capable of pressing, playing aggressively, and functioning like the best teams in European football. Their argument was simply: 'We are the best footballers in the world, we shouldn't have to do that.' From a defensive perspective, Vinicius has won numerous Champions League trophies without such demands.
According to Carragher, the dissatisfaction from the Brazilian directly led to the coach's sacking:
To put it bluntly, Xabi Alonso lost his job because of Vinicius Junior. The player was extremely unhappy with the situation, went straight to complain to the club's hierarchy, and there were even talks of him refusing to sign a new contract. In the end, Real, as always, sided with the player, sacked the head coach, and appointed his friend Alvaro Arbeloa.
