Real Madrid stars demand Xabi Alonso blocks January transfer

Robin Bairner

Updated: 12 Dec 2025 11:13 GMT
4 min read

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso faces calls from the locker room to make a drastic change to his January plans.

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Alonso saved his job in midweek, despite Los Blancos losing 2-1 to Manchester City at the Bernabeu. His side turned in a much-improved display despite the defeat, with the squad uniting behind the Spanish coach.

One of the aspects that Real Madrid’s players were impressed by was the performance of Endrick off the bench – and they are now calling on the club to block the player’s planned January move to Lyon.

Current ETV

Endrick

F (C)

Real Madrid

Endrick

F (C)

Real Madrid

ETV Range

€39.9M - €48.8M

The 19-year-old Brazil star is due to go to France when the transfer window opens, but now the squad at the Bernabeu is campaigning against this.

A lack of competitive minutes has been the motivation for Endrick to leave the Bernabeu temporarily to move to the Ligue 1 giants. He has only played two matches this season, gaining just a total 22 minutes of pitch time, with Gonzalo Garcia having moved above him in the pecking order. Indeed, he is Alonso’s least-used player this season.

His bright cameo against Man City, though, appears to have changed his fortunes.

Real Madrid ‘baffled’ by Endrick use

OK Diario reports that those at Real Madrid are ‘baffled’ by Alonso’s use of Endrick, whose appearance off the bench in midweek has only cemented this opinion.

In the boardroom, there is also concern about allowing the former Palmeiras ace to leave in January due to a lack of depth in attack.

Indeed, the deal is already said to be slowing down due to the ongoing uncertainty over Xabi Alonso’s future.

“If Xabi is dismissed, the club still has time to back out of a deal that is already quite advanced. In fact, the Brazilian forward only needs to pass his medical and little else to finalise his loan to the French club,” it notes.

If Alonso remains at the club until January, Endrick will join Lyon. If not, the deal could be blocked.

Mistakes made

Real Madrid have also acknowledged that they could have handled the player’s situation better.

There is now a sense at the Bernabeu that he should have alternated between the first team and reserves last season, like Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo before him, to acclimatise him to European football. Endrick’s status as a star for Palmeiras and Brazil made that difficult, though.

Now a loan move looks the way forward for the youngster, and while there are cries from within Real Madrid that he should stay, for his long-term development, getting plenty of minutes at Lyon looks a strong option at this point in his career.

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