Real Madrid hierarchy blamed Xabi Alonso for mishandling key players – report | OneFootball

After joining from River Plate with much excitement, Franco Mastantuono’s debut season at Real Madrid hasn’t gone according to plan.

After initially making a strong start, the Argentine has struggled with injuries and a lack of game time, finishing the campaign with just three goals and an assist.

According to Jorge Picon, prominent and influential figures within Real Madrid are not satisfied with how Xabi Alonso handled the Argentine teenager during his time in charge, and hold the former manager partly responsible for the damage done to the youngster’s confidence.

Alonso accused of rushing Mastantuono

Franco Mastantuono hasn’t had a great first season at Real Madrid. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The criticism centres on Alonso’s decision to thrust Mastantuono into matches almost immediately upon his arrival.

This is especially relevant given that the 18-year-old needed time to settle and adapt to a new country, a new league and a new style of football.

Those within the club feel the player was overwhelmed by the pressure placed on him too early, and that being subsequently dropped from the lineup stripped him of much of the self-belief he had arrived with.

The feeling internally is that the mismanagement of his introduction to the club set back his development significantly.

A wider pattern of criticism

Xabi Alonso has been blamed for Mastantuono’s underperformance (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The report suggests the Real Madrid hierarchy also directed criticism at both Alonso and Arbeloa for their handling of other players during their respective tenures.

Dean Huijsen, Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham have all been mentioned in the context of decisions that influential figures at the club felt were misguided, each for different reasons.

The cumulative picture painted is one of a club that feels its last two managers repeatedly failed to get the best out of the talent available to them, adding further justification to the decision to bring in Jose Mourinho this summer.