Real Madrid's Spanish coach Xabi Alonso gives a press conference at the club's training ground in Valdebebas ahead of their Liga football match against Osasuna, in Madrid on August 18, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso on Friday denied his authority was being challenged by any of the players in his squad.
In a press conference ahead of Saturday's game against Villarreal, the coach was asked about his relations with the squad after Vinicius Jr reacted badly to being substituted in midweek's UEFA Champions League game away to Kairat Almaty, while Federico Valverde is rumored to have refused to go on as a second-half substitute at full-back.
Valverde issued a communique in midweek to insist he had never refused to play, and Alonso told the press that "no player, not Fede, not Rodrygo, not Vinicius, has ever told me they don't want to play in a position."
"That hasn't happened, they all want to play and when they're not playing, they'd like to be on the pitch," Alonso insisted, adding that Valverde was "ready" to face Villarreal.
"We know how important the game is and how important Fede is to the team," the coach said.
Alonso has opted to rotate his first team squad so far this season and he insisted that "the team is the most important thing," making it clear he would not make concessions for individual players.
"Everyone will have their moment," he explained, although that also means there are "moments when you expected to play and didn't. That's normal, you have to normalize them. So, it's not a new situation; it's one we have to live with."
