Football Daily Euro Leagues: What next for Real Madrid?
9 snips
Jan 15, 2026 
Guillem Balagué, a veteran football journalist, joins Julien Laurens, a French football expert, James Horncastle, an analyst on Italian football, and Rafa Honigstein, a Germany specialist, to dissect Real Madrid's dramatic sacking of Xabi Alonso. They explore potential managerial replacements, including Jurgen Klopp's fit with the club. The conversation also touches on Paris FC's stunning defeat of PSG, Marseille's ambitions under Roberto De Zerbi, and the Serie A title race with Napoli and Inter, all culminating in a preview of the AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco.
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Sacking Was A Slow Decision
- Real Madrid decided to sack Xabi Alonso after a month-long decline despite earlier positive results.
- Florentino Pérez and the club viewed several incidents and loss of authority as cumulative reasons for the dismissal.
Albacete Striker's Tearful Revenge
- Albacete striker had dream night, scoring twice to knock Real Madrid out and emotionally FaceTimed his family.
- He once considered leaving football and even tried being an electrician before the moment of triumph.
Method Clash With Dressing Room
- Xabi Alonso struggled to impose his Leverkusen methods amid a star-studded, ego-filled Real Madrid dressing room.
- The players' resistance and club interventions forced tactical compromises and undermined his authority.