First eddies in the White House. According to Sport.esa tense meeting would have taken place between Florentino Pérez and Xabi Alonso at the end of a 2025 club World Customer deemed disappointing. The new Madrid coach expressed his desire to strengthen the midfield, by demanding a defensive midfielder. A request that did not find echo with President Merengue.
Xabi Alonso wants to quickly strengthen this key sector, and has submitted several names to its management. Still according to
Sportthe Basque technician would have offered three specific profiles: Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart) and Kees Smit (Az Alkmaar). Three slopes dismissed unremated by management, deemed far from the level of requirement set by the club.
Rodri and Konaté, the exception
Florentino Pérez, he camps on a more rigid position. The boss of the club no longer considers summer expenses, except in a single case: if Rodri (Manchester City) were to become available. A very improbable hypothesis, considers the Iberian press, but which testifies to the intransigence of the Madrid President.
So far active on the market with the arrivals of Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Franco Mastantuono and Álvaro Carreras for a total of 182 million euros, Pérez estimates that the workforce is now complete. There Cadena Ser Even confirms that the file of a central defender, another request from Alonso, is postponed to 2026, with Ibrahima Konaté as a priority target in the medium term, except last minute opportunity at a reduced price this summer.
This first disagreement between the president and his coach suggests the delicate balances of this new era in Madrid. Xabi Alonso will have to deal with a direction little inclined to grant him full sporting powers.
