Flick Breaks Silence on Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid Exit, Points to Loss of Trust

|By Babatunji Wusu

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has weighed in on Xabi Alonso’s exit as Real Madrid head coach, suggesting the Spanish tactician lost his job after the club’s hierarchy and players stopped believing in his leadership.

Flick, however, was quick to defend Alonso’s pedigree, insisting the former midfielder remains one of the best coaches in the game and backing him to succeed in his next role.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Barcelona’s Copa del Rey clash with Real Racing Club, Flick avoided directly apportioning blame but stressed that trust is non-negotiable in top-level football management.

“It’s not my business,” Flick said, as quoted by Goal. “I get along really well with Xabi. We met in Leverkusen and have kept in touch since. He’s a fantastic coach. I hope he has a lot of success with his next big project. All the best for him. It’s part of football.”

The German tactician explained that no manager can survive once confidence erodes at the highest level.

“The club needs to believe in you, and the team should believe in you too,” Flick added. “The people who are in charge need to make the choices. But I don’t want to talk about it, because a coach’s job is very complicated, and we have a lot of responsibilities.”

Alonso’s exit comes amid mixed results against Barcelona this season. He guided his side to a league victory over the Catalans earlier in the campaign but suffered a narrow 3–2 defeat to Flick’s Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final earlier this week.