Xabi Alonso apologises to Real Madrid star over public comments | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso is fighting for his job at Real Madrid, with strong speculation that he could be sacked at any time. He has reportedly lost some of the dressing room, and recent comments he made regarding one player in particular may not have helped him in this regard.

After last weekend’s victory over Alaves, Alonso pointed out that Victor Valdepenas “had failed” for the home side’s equaliser, scored by Carlos Vicente. The 19-year-old, who was making his first team debut, had been drafted in at left-back due to the absences of Alvaro Carreras, Fran Garcia and Ferland Mendy, and although he held his own at Mendizorroza, his manager’s comments would have stung.

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As per Marca, Alonso apologised privately to Valdepenas in the aftermath of his post-match press conference last Sunday, as he sought to explain why he said what he had to the media. He also publicly praised the teenager in the lead-up to Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey victory over Talavera on Wednesday.

The report notes that Alonso did not need to justify himself to Valdepenas, but the fact that he went out of his way to do so speaks volumes about his man-management skills. At a time when he has reportedly annoyed several members of the Real Madrid dressing room, this will be good to hear for senior officials.

Xabi Alonso remains under pressure at Real Madrid

Despite the victories at Alaves and Talavera, Alonso remains under a significant amount of pressure at Real Madrid. He will at least get Saturday’s match against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, but were his side to be held to a disappointing result in that one, it could spell the end of his tenure in the Spanish capital, which only started in the summer when he replaced Carlo Ancelotti.