In a follow-up interview after his highly-anticipated press conference, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez spoke about Xabi Alonso’s sensational departure.
Despite Xabi Alonso’s brief six-month stint at Real Madrid coming to an end in January, Perez says he has no regrets about bringing in the Basque midfielder.
“Signing him was not a mistake. We had no preparation in pre-season. When you play constantly on Wednesdays and Sundays without that foundation, the fitness inevitably drops. We suffered 28 injuries.”
“We thought that the transfer would solve it, but that solution was short-term and the form dropped again,” Perez told Spanish channel LA SEXTA , in an interview conducted just days after his sensational press conference.
Real had hired Alonso in the summer of 2025, after the double triumph with Bayer Leverkusen, but the club fired him midway through the 2025/26 season, after losing in the Super Cup to eternal rivals Barcelona and finishing the championship in second place, behind the Catalans.
Tensions with stars like Vinicius Junior further complicated his time at the club, which had begun during the Club World Cup.
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Alvaro Arbeloa took over from Alonso, but Real Madrid remained inconsistent even under his command. The first match ended in humiliation: elimination from the King’s Cup by second division side Albacete.
In La Liga, the gap with Barcelona, which was later declared champion, grew week after week, while in the Champions League, Real was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Bayern Munich.
As a result, it is widely accepted that Arbeloa will leave the Bernabeu at the end of the season.
