Inside Real Madrid: Differences in the dressing room and difficulties

The Athletic run a weekly series called "Inside Real Madrid".

Every week, they bring key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.

The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at Madrid, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.

What’s the biggest talking point at Real Madrid right now?

The team’s performance continues to be a concern at all levels at the club. On Wednesday, Madrid achieved a hard-fought victory against Olympiacos in the Champions League, but the display left a bad impression.

Sunday night’s 1-1 draw at Girona saw them lose their La Liga lead to rivals Barcelona, who they now trail by a point. Xabi Alonso’s side have drawn three consecutive league matches, following a 0-0 away to Rayo Vallecano and a 2-2 at Elche. Their last win in the competition was at home to Valencia on November 1.

They have played three matches in a row away from home since the NFL fixture that was held at the Santiago Bernabeu on November 16.

“It’s a long season and we have to keep going,” said a serious Alonso at his post-match press conference last night. “We were close to turning it around. We have to continue with the unity we have, with fair and necessary self-criticism.”

Madrid’s single goal was scored by Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot, with the Frenchman now accounting for 23 of Madrid’s 41 goals in all competitions so far this season.

How is the mood in the dressing room?

There is a certain division of opinion in the dressing room, although this has not had a significant impact on the relationship between the players at this point. At the end of October, with the team top of the table, The Athletic revealed that Alonso’s personal approach and some of his footballing concepts had not gone down well with a significant number of the first team.

Last week, there were reports in the Spanish media of meetings between Alonso and the players to reconcile differences.

"I’ll take away the positive things that happened inside,” Alonso said in his post-match news conference following Wednesday’s tie in Athens, when asked about the build-up to that game. Some players, such as Mbappe, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga, took advantage of the 4-3 win in Greece — Madrid’s first victory in four games — to deny the internal tensions in the mixed zone and on social media. Yesterday, after the draw, no players spoke to the media.

There is currently a mix of players who remain unconvinced about Alonso’s methods and others who argue that the manager is not to blame. “This is not the coach’s problem, it’s very obvious,” one of the latter group told The Athletic.

What about Xabi Alonso’s position?

Sources from the club and the coaching staff acknowledge the difficulty in changing the dynamic. One said things looked “very difficult” because “we’re playing very badly”. Another described Sunday’s result and performance against Girona, a team in La Liga’s relegation zone, as “a disaster”.

When asked about Alonso’s future, those same sources said Madrid’s upcoming matches (they next play at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, another La Liga away match) were important not just in terms of results, but in terms of image.

Sources with close ties to the dressing room echoed this worrying situation. They said Alonso’s messages are not getting through to the players, but added that the current problems go beyond the coach.

A source present at Valdebebas on a daily basis last season had this assessment: “The problem is not Xabi. Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and (Jude) Bellingham are incompatible; you can’t have a balanced team with those three.”

What might we have missed? What should we look out for?

Antonio Rudiger returned to the squad as a starter after being diagnosed with an injury to the rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh on September 12. His inclusion came as a surprise because the plan was to bring him back gradually.

The German centre-back, 32, wanted to follow this plan after playing last season needing painkillers, having to undergo knee surgery in May, and suffering a new physical problem in September. However, he made himself available to Alonso, and with Dean Huijsen (left thigh strain) and Raul Asencio (gastroenteritis) injured, the coach decided to choose him to start.

Alvaro Carreras was a substitute for the first time in La Liga this term, having also started on the bench against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League in September.

The left-back was ready to come on in the second half, but the penalty won by Vinicius Jr and converted by Mbappe stopped the change, and the 22-year-old did not come on until the 90th minute. Rodrygo, who might have been awarded another penalty, played in the second half, too.

The Brazilian is now 30 games without a goal — a run that equals the worst record for strikers at Madrid, matching Mariano Diaz. Rodrygo has played 1,339 minutes in this period, compared to the 986 of Mariano, who left in 2023.

Another sign of the team’s bad run could be taken from the fact that the players huddled together while waiting for Girona to return to the pitch after half-time. This has become customary since Alonso’s arrival before matches, but not before the second half of games.

Madrid return to action on Wednesday against eighth-placed Athletic, at the always difficult San Mames stadium. With captain Dani Carvajal still ruled out, it will be important to see if any of Madrid’s other injured players, David Alaba, Asencio, or Huijsen, can return in time.