Xabi Alonso: Bayer Leverkusen president slams Real Madrid

While Xabi Alonso is under fire from all sides following Real Madrid's recent results, Bayer Leverkusen president Fernando Carro de Prada has broken his silence to take a swipe at Florentino Pérez.

Fernando Carro de Prada, president of Bayer Leverkusen, has fond memories of Xabi Alonso. The Spanish manager led the German club to its first-ever Bundesliga title, as well as a Europa League final. In an interview with Sky Sport this weekend, the Spanish executive spoke about the complex situation Xabi is facing on the Merengues' bench. He began by emphasizing the strong ties between the club and Xabi Alonso: "During the international break, I spent a weekend in Madrid and both the staff and his family came to visit us twice. We have a very good relationship. After all, over these three years, we've been like family. I also know that they follow our matches and we follow theirs—we keep an eye on each other. Tomorrow (Sunday), I'll be watching Real Madrid and today (Saturday), I'm sure they'll be watching Leverkusen-Cologne. We have a lot of respect for each other and stay in very close contact."

Asked if he had any advice for Xabi Alonso during these difficult times, Carro de Prada didn't hide his criticism of Real Madrid's management under Florentino Pérez. "We don't give him any advice. Back then, we would have loved for him to stay here, but we know he's a coach with tremendous talent who now finds himself in a very different context in Madrid. If the president says a coach is a necessary evil, if the coach is left alone and is always the one taking the criticism, then the situation is very different from what he experienced at Leverkusen, where we were all pulling in the same direction and never left the coach isolated in a political sense." he said.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.