Among all of Real Madrid’s players, Vinicius was most disgruntled with the 44-year-old’s regime
After Real Madrid abruptly dismissed Xabi Alonso on Monday only seven months into the job, it was well expected that speculation and media frenzy would revel in the fallout.
A lot has been said but the general consensus is that an inability to control the powerful players in the dressing room played a key part in the club legend being shown the door by president Florentino Perez.
Shortly after the news broke that Alonso had left the club, Kylian Mbappe went online to pay tribute to the manager under whom he scored 29 goals in 25 appearances this season, Mbappe who has been accused of being the main reason why Alonso lost his job, the French forward shown in viral clips on social media apparently countering Alonso’s orders in Jeddah, motioning for his teammates to step away from the front of the podium and decline to give Barcelona a guard of honour.
“It’s been short but it was a pleasure to play for you and learn from you,” Mbappe said, alongside a photo of the two clasping hands and laughing together. “Thank you for giving me the confidence since Day 1.
“I will remember you as a manager who had clear ideas and knows many things about football. Best of luck for your next chapter.”
Jude Bellingham said: “Thank you, Mister. It was a pleasure, all the very best for the future.”
There was also a heartfelt message from Rodrygo, who had begun to thrive under the Spaniard, thanking Alonso “for every day we’ve shared, for the trust, the learning, and the moments we’ve experienced.”
But tellingly, there was no message from Vinicius. The Brazilian’s silence was deafening. Among all of Madrid’s players, Vinicius was notably the most disgruntled. He was understood to be dissatisfied with the amount of game time he was getting, perceiving it as unfair that he was always getting substituted.
In fact, Vinicius did not complete 90 minutes for the first 13 games of Alonso’s reign. Matters got to a head when Vinicius protested on the pitch in the clásico at the Bernabeu, the biggest possible home game for the club. When substituted he gestured angrily and stormed off into the tunnel. Then he later apologised on social media to everyone connected to the club except Alonso.
Things got even worse when the Brazilian informed the club he would not renew his contract as long as Alonso remained at the club.
With several other senior players also questioning Alonso’s tactics, it was always a question of just how much faith the senior leadership had in the 44-year-old’s abilities and philosophy. Not much apparently, as later events would tell us.
But given everything that transpired, it was unsurprising that Vinicius cares very little about joining his teammates in the tributes.
