‘Trying to Understand’—Kylian Mbappe Reveals Noteworthy First Impression of Xabi Alonso

Kylian Mbappé had nothing but praise for Xabi Alonso, admitting the new Real Madrid boss left a lasting first impression as soon as he took over the club.

Replacing Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid comes with the highest of expectations. The Italian won 15 trophies between his two stints at the Spanish capital, including three Champions League titles, and left Madrid as the winningest manager in club history.

Alonso is the man Los Blancos entrusted to lead the team back to silverware after a disappointing 2024–25 campaign. The former Bayer Leverkusen boss only had two weeks in charge of the biggest club in the world before this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, not leaving a lot of time to get truly acclimated with his new squad.

Still, Mbappé recalls the Alonso’s somewhat rushed integration with great fondness in an interview with BILD.

“I had a great impression of him,” the Frenchman said. “You see a guy who wants to succeed. He knows the club perfectly because he played for Real Madrid himself.

“At the moment we’re just trying to implement what he tells us. We’re trying to understand the game plan he has for us, and then we’ll see what happens.”

Kylian Mbappé, Xabi Alonso — Kylian Mbappé already leads the La Liga scoring race. | Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images

Real Madrid already look like a different team under Alonso’s leadership. The four new signings this summer help, of course, but Los Blancos’ play style is the biggest change.

Last season, Real Madrid were content to sit back and allow other teams to enjoy prolonged spells of possession. There was no urgency to win the ball back, no aggressive press, and the club often found themselves pinned deep into their own half.

Now, Los Blancos boast an improved work rate off the ball, clinical passing in the midfield and cohesive defending. There are still areas to improve upon, but the signs are overwhelmingly positive, especially from Mbappé, who has three goals in as many games in Real Madrid’s perfect start to the 2025–26 season.

“Our start was good with three wins, of course, which is really positive, but we have to improve,” Mbappé said. “We have to keep working, we have to keep pushing ourselves because we know how difficult it is to win trophies. And that’s what we want.

“We’re on our way and we’re just beginning a long journey, but the goal is always the same: to win trophies. To achieve this, we’re trying to move forward step by step.”