Real Madrid ‘vetoed Xabi Alonso’s top transfer target’ with Bernabeu bosses never ‘fully convinced’ by his pleas

REAL MADRID sacked Xabi Alonso six months after failing to land his top summer transfer target. Alonso was desperate for a midfield linchpin in the mould of Toni Kroos, who spent a decade with Los Blancos before retiring in 2024. And he had pinpointed Martin Zubimendi – then of Real Sociedad – as the metronomic…