Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Friday, 06 February 2026, 08:14 / Updated Friday, 06 February 2026 08:16
When he was sacked by Real Madrid, after losing the Spanish Super Cup final to Barcelona (2-3), Xabi Alonso warned the managers that “the players have too much power in the club and it's not ok”.
Real Madrid players bombarded Alvaro Arbeloa with reproaches for an hour!
A situation that is confirmed after his departure. Not more than a few days ago, radio “Marca” talked about the fact that the “interim” Alvaro Arbeloa does not enjoy the respect of the players and that he trains more than some of them.
Now, the daily Sport comes with a new “bomb”! At the end of the championship game with Rayo Vallecano (2-1), won by a landslide, alas, thanks to a penalty awarded in the 16th minute of overtime (!), the Real stars would have put Arbeloa in the meeting.
For an hour, in the dressing room, they would have reproached the Spanish technician for the strategy chosen for the duel with Rayo. Arbeloa appeared at the press conference an hour late, and when asked what happened, he replied to the journalists: “I'm fine, thank you for your concern.”
Although Alvaro Arbeloa highlighted that the players need more training, they were given 2 days off
Sport confirms what Marca also wrote, namely that the players perceive Arbeloa only as an “interim” and do not give him due respect. Moreover, they doubt his abilitiesafter several contradictory performances, including the failure with Benfica (2-4) in the Champions League, which sent the Madrid players into the play-off for a place in the “eighties”.
One more example. Immediately after the meeting with sparks in the dressing room, the players were given two days off, although Arbeloa had previously highlighted the need to train more! The reaction of the club management? Total silence.
2 isthe place that Real Madrid occupies in the La Liga standings. They are one point behind leaders FC Barcelona after 22 matches (out of 38)
