Spanish media reacts to Xabi Alonso firing as ex-Liverpool star called 'puppet'

Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid after a short spell as manager, with successor Alvaro Arbeloa already facing criticism from Spanish media and ex-players

Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid(Image: Getty Images)

Xabi Alonso's spell as Real Madrid manager turned out to be considerably shorter than his playing career at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The former Liverpool midfielder was fired on Monday, with Sunday's 3-2 Spanish Super Cup final loss to Barcelona marking his last game in charge. Despite winning 24 of his 34 matches, fractured relationships with club president Florentino Perez and key player Vinicius Jr. proved insurmountable, resulting in an agreement to part ways.

As one former Liverpool player exits, another enters the Bernabeu hot seat. Alvaro Arbeloa, who featured alongside Alonso at Anfield, has been promoted to manager after his time leading the club's reserve team.

Former Liverpool star Arbeloa knows the intense pressures that come with managing Madrid, and while Spanish publication Sport described him as Perez's "puppet," the outlet argues that the former defender is a more suitable appointment than Alonso, given his stronger alignment with the president's approach.

Sport stated: "He's a manager very much to Perez's liking because he allows star players to play freely, manages the dressing room well, and avoids elaborate tactical experiments that, in his opinion, only complicate matters."

While Arbeloa has Perez's support, the same cannot be said for one Madrid legend, with former stalwart Ivan Helguera making his disapproval of the appointment clear on social media.

Alonso clashed with Vinicius Jr. at Real Madrid(Image: Getty Images)

As reported by Marca, the 50-year-old, who played alongside Arbeloa at Madrid during the 2004-05 season, took to social media and simply posted "Arbeloa" followed by two laughing faces and two facepalm emojis.

It seems he's far from delighted about his fellow countryman taking charge at Madrid, a position that now demands Arbeloa rescue a campaign plagued by internal discord at the club.

Marca indicated that Alonso's dismissal was partly down to his inability to fulfil the promise of thrilling soccer and relentless pressing. The publication observed: "The team almost always looked short of vigour and energy, with physical preparation under suspicion.

"The same difficulties as with (former manager Carlo) Ancelotti against low blocks continued and the famous pressing, which was supposed to be the team's hallmark, was barely seen. There were only loose glimpses in some matches, such as the La Liga match against Barcelona at the Bernabeu.

"An oasis in the desert of a team that did not emanate the promised electricity and that, as the games went by, came to resemble more and more Ancelotti's Madrid in 2024-25."

Despite Arbeloa's appointment, certain sections of the Spanish press, notably Mundo Deportivo, have suggested that Madrid might "explore the possibility" of luring Jurgen Klopp back into soccer management.

Klopp has often been linked with a move to Spain, but the German has already ruled out any chance of joining Madrid when discussing Alonso's exit. Addressing the situation at the club, he remarked: "I think we'd already been hearing rumors for a while.

"And now - I don't know if that's where your question was going - but this has absolutely nothing to do with me, and it didn't trigger anything for me either, which would probably have been the follow-up question."