The first crack between Xabi Alonso and Florentino Perez

Xabi Alonso has just suffered his first defeat at Real Madrid.

On the pitch, Real were completely overwhelmed by PSG. Off the pitch, a rift between new coach Xabi Alonso and President Florentino Perez seemed to have appeared - an implicit confrontation over direction and responsibility.

Xabi Alonso: "This is the end, not the beginning"

Immediately after the defeat, Xabi Alonso surprised the public with the statement: “Today is not the beginning of the season, but the end of last season”. A seemingly harmless statement, but clearly reflected the difference in views between him and the club's President. When the home team won, Alonso did not mention the concept of "last season". But when the defeat, he quickly washed his hands of it, implying that this was a negative legacy from the Ancelotti era.

This evasion of responsibility immediately raises big questions about the new coach's leadership mindset. A Real Madrid that lost miserably, was confused in its playing style and weak in its tactical response - all bore the mark of the person holding the sand table, and could not blame the past.

In stark contrast, Florentino Perez has been positioning the Club World Cup as the start of a new era since the start of the tournament. “We have a new coach, new players, and it’s a new season,” he said ahead of the match against Al-Hilal. After the win over Salzburg, President Perez even excitedly said: “We are on the way to creating a new era.”

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants the club to reap success soon.

Clearly, for Perez, this tournament is about more than just a trophy. It is a chance to shake off last season's failure and rebuild Real Madrid's image after a trophyless campaign under Ancelotti. His investment in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and his faith in Xabi Alonso is not simply a change of personnel - it is a declaration of a complete rebuild.

Two worlds , one club

But when the coach sees his first major tournament as “the end of the old”, and the club’s leader sees it as “the beginning of the new”, Real Madrid are clearly operating with two different definitions of time and responsibility. Alonso wants to “start from zero”. Perez expects the team to stand firm from the very first steps.

This disparity is not just a difference in language. It is a potential conflict of strategy, direction and even belief. Especially when Real fans always demand immediate results, all patience has its limits.

Xabi Alonso is an icon who is expected to bring the winning DNA of Madridistas to the role of coach. But he needs to understand that at the Bernabeu, there is no “waiting period”. There is no room for shirking responsibility. A heavy defeat can be forgiven if accompanied by a spirit of apology and improvement. But a shirking is not.

Xabi Alonso is facing many challenges.

Florentino Perez, with his experience and innate coolness, will not easily let this go. Real Madrid are about to enter the new season with the opening match against Osasuna on August 19. But clearly, their season started with the defeat to PSG - and that is a warning not to be ignored.

If Alonso doesn't adjust his approach and rhetoric soon, the "rebuild" he desires could be over before it even begins.