Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema has given his take on the club’s current slump and why it’s not down to Xabi Alonso to fix it.
The Al Ittihad striker was speaking to L’Equipe when he was asked about what’s gone wrong this season.
“What they’re lacking is simply a connection,” he said. “Between Mbappé, Vinicius, Bellingham, and Rodrygo.
“Each one needs to know what to do on the field. Bellingham needs to understand that he’s the attacking midfielder, not the goalscorer.
“Mbappé is the goalscorer, not the attacking midfielder. Vinicius isn’t the defensive midfielder, he’s the left winger.
“As long as they all know what to do on the field, that’s it. Because we’re talking about players who are among the ten best in the world, and they’re all on the same team.”
Asked if Alonso had to take the blame, he added: “No, the coach can’t do anything.
“He has his picks, he chooses the best players. After that, it’s up to the players…
“If your teammate is better than you, you have to accept it. The problem is that you can’t accept that the player ahead of you scores more goals.
“That’s why you have problems when you have five or six great players together. They all contribute something. And, in the end, the goalscorer will always get a little more attention than the others. But he still needs the others! You can’t do it all alone.”
Benzema then went on to suggest the problem may be a lack of leadership in the dressing room.
He continued: “These days, there isn’t that kind of player at Real Madrid anymore.
“There isn’t a more experienced player who can tell Bellingham, Mbappé, or Vinicius what’s wrong. So it’s complicated…
“The coach, in my opinion, does say it, but in a different way. Because these days, football… Frankly, it’s very complicated.
“The players don’t talk to each other anymore. And it shows, actually. It’s: ‘I did my job, I scored my goals.’ That’s football these days.”
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