Spain and Real Madrid legend Vicente Del Bosque gave Xabi Alonso advice on how to handle Kylian … More
Legendary Real Madrid and Spain coach gave his former player and current Los Blancos manager Xabi Alonso advice on how to handle a Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. dilemma during an appearance on popular Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
The pair is once again under fire after a limp display in the Club World Cup semifinals. Once more proving that it is better in life after the Frenchman, who joined in a high profile free transfer move last summer, Paris Saint-Germain dismantled the La Liga giant 4-0.
That was mostly thanks to defensive blunders by Raul Asencio and Antonio Rudiger in the first 10 minutes of play, but a lack of tracking back and being unable to play alongside one another productively from the superstars in question certainly didn’t help matters.
Asked about the dilemma that Alonso has ahead of him in 2025/2026, to find a way for Mbappe and Vinicius to co-exist while also ending FC Barcelona’s newfound domestic dominance, Del Bosque says that is “the coach’s obligation is to accept who they are”.
“And if you like Mbappe, he has to play. And if you like Vinicius, he has to play too ,” Del Bosque added, with Gonzalo Garcia’s form giving Alonso an extra issue to consider.
Against PSG, Alonso opted to have all three of attackers start on a front three, which also froze Rodrygo out, but it caused an imbalance in the team that Luis Enrique was more than happy to have his ruthless Champions League winners exploit.
With Alonso’s predecessor Carlo Ancelotti an expert in his, Del Bosque indicated that man-management will be key.
“If not, they wouldn’t be Vinicius and they wouldn’t be Mbappe. In the end, we have to accept who they are, although that shouldn’t jeopardize teamwork. It’s a fundamental lesson in football ,” he said.
“If you’re trying to get the most out of them defensively, you might be messing up because you’re losing what Mbappe and Vinicius are in front of goal.”
Real Madrid needs to get this right post haste
With the season starting in a matter of weeks, Alonso has to resolve this issue post-haste once again face the prospect of Real Madrid perhaps suffering another season without major silverware. He said that the PSG thrashing was “good” for him to know the cracks in his team, but they need to be swiftly ironed out.