Contrary to what many had expected, the Spanish Super Cup final was the last match for Xabi Alonso as a Real Madrid manager, as the club confirmed his departure late last night.

Alonso’s dismissal cannot only be linked to the Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona, as there were multiple things that contributed to his failure.

One of them was the way he simply did not have any hold over the dressing room and felt disrespected by the players.

Nevertheless, as Alonso leaves Real Madrid, ESPN has offered a glimpse into three things Alonso is disappointed about during his short spell at the Bernabeu.

Three things Alonso is disappointed about

The report suggests that Alonso was particularly disappointed with the contributions of some of the big players in the team.

This is hardly surprising, as players like Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. were far from their best in calendar year 2025 and barely contributed anything to the success of the team.

Xabi Alonso’s dismissal left many disappointed at the end. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

The team, at times, was far too reliant on Kylian Mbappe, which left Alonso extremely disappointed at the end.

Another factor that irked Alonso the most was the inability to implement his own ideas in a Real Madrid setting that is dominated by players more than the coach, as highlighted recently by Thierry Henry.

While Alonso introduced radical ideas and an intense training regime, these ideas were rejected by a large group of players, prompting Alonso to throw a ‘nursery’ jibe in November.

Lastly, Alonso was disappointed with himself, as he felt he could have handled some incidents differently, which in turn might have led to better squad harmony.