Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has backed new head coach Xabi Alonso to make “big changes” at the club, saying that he won’t be afraid to drop anyone.
After leaving Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso has now returned to Madrid with the task of delivering silverware after the club went trophy-less under Carlo Ancelotti this past season.
Speaking to ESPN FC TV on Thursday, Bale, who won five Champions League and three LaLiga titles with the Spanish giants, was asked if can get stars like Kylian Mbappé and VinÃcius Júnior working together in a coherent team.
“I think if you look off what he did at Leverkusen, yes, and now he’s arguably got better players to work with and I imagine a bigger transfer kitty,” he said.
“So I would like to think Xabi has got the respect of the players and the players will play for him. So I expect big changes and I expect them to play the way he wants them and if they don’t, I don’t think Xabi’s scared to drop anyone.”
Madrid have already made two notable signings this offseason, with the arrivals of defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool and Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth. Both were unavailable, though, as Real Madrid’s 2024-25 season officially came to an end on Wednesday with a humbling 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semifinals.
It was a result that only put further scrutiny on Mbappé.
After making a long-awaited transfer from PSG to Madrid a year ago, the French club went on to win their first Champions League title and now reach the Club World Cup final without him. And, despite Mbappé finishing as LaLiga’s top scorer with 31 goals, Madrid finished the year empty-handed.
“It’s a difficult one because he’s still scoring the goals, he’s still doing good things, it’s just they haven’t won anything this season,” Bale said of the France forward. “I think at Real Madrid you’re expected to win everything, so it’s a tough one because he’s still delivering on the pitch, but maybe he’s not having those moments.
“So I guess it’s now up to Xabi to find that blend of pressing and trying to get the best out of him and saving his energy for when you need him. So yeah, it’s going to be a tough one. I wouldn’t like to criticize him and say he’s had a bad season because of the goals and everything.
“But yeah, being his name, what you’re expecting him to do, of course everyone’s going to always expect more.”
The defeat to PSG was the final game at Real Madrid for legendary midfielder Luka Modric, who joined the club a season before Bale in 2012 and will now move to AC Milan at the age of 39. The two previously spent four seasons together at Spurs, making Bale ideally placed to evaluate the Croatian’s qualities.
“What an incredible footballer,” Bale said. “The first time at Tottenham, he was so small and I was still young at the time, but you just never thought he would be able to keep up with Premier League kind of pace. And then he got the ball, dropped the shoulder, just kept everybody away from it and he’s just got better and better. I always call him a fine wine, just keeps getting better with age.
“I think he could arguably still keep playing, but I think Madrid want to take the younger players on and carry on, otherwise he’s kind of holding a spot back. But an incredible player, not just for Real Madrid but just for world football and it was a pleasure to play with him for all those years.”
Bale’s Madrid career also overlapped with Alonso for a single season, when they won the Champions League together in 2013-14. Bale is hopeful Alonso can now enjoy similar success as a coach.
“I had a very good season with him and you could see he was going to come on to be a manager and you could see how passionate he was about football,” he said.
“He was always out on the training pitch. He was passing, warming up before everyone even came out and he was just, he was very meticulous about everything and very demanding. So yeah, hopefully he’ll do a great job now at Real Madrid.”
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