Real Madrid changes with Xabi Alonso: The new Galacticos dream.

Real Madrid began the Xabi Alonso era at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, with ambitions for a new Galacticos era.

Galacticos' ambitions

Last weekend, Real Madrid landed in the United States to begin their journey for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament that president Florentino Perez initially boycotted but later became very interested in due to its enormous prize money .

In Miami, just four days before the opening match against Al Hilal (2 AM on June 19th) , Xabi Alonso finally had a full squad. Vinicius Junior, Arda Guler, and goalkeeper Lunin joined the team after completing their national team duties.

Huijsen is the most expensive central defender in Real Madrid's history. Photo: RMCF

Earlier, the two new recruits, Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, had already gotten acquainted with the new team at the Valdebebas training center. They only had one day of training under Alonso's guidance.

“Several people have sent me congratulatory messages; they are all great teammates. I hope to get to know them soon ,” Huijsen said at his unveiling. He is the most expensive central defender in Real Madrid's history.

Later, Alexander-Arnold was also introduced. “Some people call him Alexander, others Arnold… It’s best to just call him ‘Trent’, for simplicity!” , the former Liverpool defender said about how he was called.

For Huijsen and Trent, this was a dream. The former wanted to write a story similar to Sergio Ramos's experience, while the latter was guided by his close friend Jude Bellingham to quickly adapt to his surroundings.

These two new faces will help strengthen Real Madrid's defense, after a season plagued by numerous problems.

Both are young and expected to usher in a new era for the Bernabeu team. In other words, they are the foundation for building a new version of Galacticos 2.0, ever since Perez returned to the presidency.

Alexander-Arnold is expected to shine. Photo: RMCF

Xabi Alonso was one of the key figures in creating the concept of Galacticos 2.0 in the summer of 2009, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Karim Benzema.

That version includes a La Liga championship season with a record 100 points under Jose Mourinho, or the milestone of La Decima - the 10th Champions League title in Lisbon - with Carlo Ancelotti.

From his outstanding performance as a player, Alonso was affectionately nicknamed "Professor" Xabi. In the early stages, with the goal of winning the FIFA Club World Cup, he had the support of his friend and former teammate Luka Modric.

Alonso's challenge

As soon as the 2024/25 La Liga season ended, Real Madrid announced two important signings: Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold .

In theory, these two new signings significantly strengthen Real Madrid. Once the key players recover from injury, Alonso will have a much stronger squad than in Ancelotti's final season.

Alonso lacks a quality left-back. Photo: RMCF

Along with two new defenders, Alonso inherited a much improved Kylian Mbappe in the "number 9" role from his former coach Ancelotti. The European Golden Boot demonstrates this value.

In addition, Arda Guler has matured thanks to Ancelotti's help in managing his mental state. Bellingham has become increasingly well-rounded and plays a leading role in terms of morale.

However, not everything went as Xabi Alonso wished: Real Madrid had not yet made any additions to the left flank, their weakest area last season, and lacked support for Vinicius.

Real Madrid spent weeks discussing the signing of Alvaro Carreras , a former Manchester United youth player who performed very well with Benfica.

The negotiations stalled despite at times appearing close to completion. As a result, Carreras went to the US to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup with Benfica, not as a member of Los Blancos.

Plan B proposed by Xabi Alonso, a former pupil of Alex Grimaldo at Bayer Leverkusen, was not accepted by Real Madrid officials.

Alonso inherited the legacy of Mbappe, who just won the Golden Boot. Photo: RMCF

Instead, Real Madrid focused on finalizing the signing of Franco Mastantuono, who will only join on August 14th, when he turns 18.

With Ferland Mendy unable to recover, Xabi was forced to find a solution for the left wing between Fran Garcia and young Diego Aguado.

Fran Garcia had a poor season both defensively and offensively. Meanwhile, Aguado remains an unknown quantity, having only played a few minutes professionally.

Alonso's search for a solution to the left-wing problem is crucial to his ambition of winning the FIFA Club World Cup – a tournament with a $1 billion prize fund.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-cach-revolution-with-xabi-alonso-new-galacticos-ambition-2412245.html