Experts compare Xabi Alonso-Vinicius dynamics to Messi-Luis Enrique relationship at Barcelona | OneFootball

Much has been said at Real Madrid surrounding the relationship between Xabi Alonso and Vinicius Jr. and how that has slightly changed heading into Real Madrid’s game against Olympiacos.

Real Madrid players showed a lot more unity in that particular game while Xabi, too, appeared quite open towards Vinicius.

In the wake of these events, El Larguero’s expert panel likened the Xabi-Vinicius situation to Luis Enrique and Lionel Messi’s infamous feud at Barcelona in 2015.

The Messi-Enrique type situation and the role of Florentino Perez

Speaking on El Larguero (h/t SPORT), the panel dissected the internal crisis that nearly derailed Real Madrid’s season before their midweek resurgence in Greece.

Manu Carreno compared the situation to the famous “Anoeta crisis,” where Luis Enrique benched Messi, sparking a revolt that eventually pivoted into a treble-winning campaign for Barcelona.

The panel added that Florentino Perez had a key role to play in diffusing the situation between Xabi Alonso and Vinicius Junior.

Is the relationship back to normal? (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Manu Carreno delivered an assessment of the message conveyed to the manager: “If you have Vinicius at Real Madrid, you can’t let him get angry. President Florentino Pérez explained this to Xabi Alonso. The players are assets of the club, but the coach isn’t.“

Miguel Angel Chazarri noted, “At Real Madrid, you have to win over the players because the president is more about the players than the coaches.”

Anton Meana went on to elaborate how Alonso absorbed this reality check and instead of doubling down and being stringent, he showed flexibility.

“Xabi Alonso is the one who wanted to make a change,” Meana said. “Xabi Alonso is the one who changed his approach, his work ethic, and his communication style. It’s Xabi who has pulled the club forward, not the other way around.“

“I think Xabi Alonso is changing the approach. It’s been a week of meetings with the president, players. It’s about acknowledging mistakes and whether the approach needs to change,” analyst Jordi Marti said.

“He demonstrated the importance of the match in Athens. The approach he’d been using since the Club World Cup has completely changed,” he added.