Xabi Alonso Admits Real Madrid Sacking Came Too Soon but Holds No Grudge

Xabi Alonso says his sacking at Real Madrid came too soon, but the Chelsea boss insists he holds no grudge against the Spanish giants.

Alonso took over at the Bernabeu at the start of last season after his strong work at Bayer Leverkusen. He started well at the Club World Cup, but things fell apart midway through the campaign. 

Madrid sacked him after a loss in the Spanish Super Cup final in January, and Alvaro Arbeloa came in to steady the ship.

Speaking to former Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports' Boss, Alonso said the timing felt wrong. "I felt as though it finished a little bit earlier, before knowing if the season was going to end well," he said. 

"It was the middle of the season. We were still in La Liga, the Champions League, but it was an experience to manage Real Madrid."

He added: "Real Madrid is special in everything. It's a little bit different to other clubs in everything. I learned from that, and I don't look back in anger. I look back, thinking I tried and gave my best. Now I'm focusing on the future, but I had to try it."

Madrid later brought in Jose Mourinho, a very different kind of coach, while Alonso found a new home in west London. He said he wanted a break first and then a place where he felt a real connection.

"It was about the timing. For me it was the right timing after Bayer Leverkusen, after Real Madrid. I had my time off," Alonso told Carragher. "And I wanted to choose to have that good connection, that good feeling about where to go, and I know Chelsea.

"I had no link [to the club], but what I heard… The potential is there, few things could change. And I thought that we could start this journey together. I feel [the squad] have a very strong base, the squad is very good. With some improvement, new signings of different profiles, we could have a solid team.

"It was gonna be a project… We know it's going to take some more years, but the first year is important and here we are, just starting. But so far the feeling is that we could be aligned, on the same page. That's going to be important."

The start has been promising, with Chelsea fourth in the table. They host a struggling Tottenham side in a big London derby on Saturday. 

Mourinho's Madrid have a test of their own, as they visit Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday night in the first El Clasico of the season.