Real Madrid’s trip to the FIFA Club World Cup ended in disaster. The Spanish giants suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final, shocking their fans and leaving the club at

The most obvious lesson Alonso learned against PSG was a front three of Kylian Mbappé, Gonzalo García and Vinícius Júnior does not work. After only starting two forwards in Real Madrid’s five consecutive victories in the Club World Cup, the former Bayer Leverkusen boss gave the nod to the three attackers in a head-scratching decision.

But listen to the way Xabi Alonso spoke about Alex Grimaldo throughout Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible title-winning season — when he provided 10 goals and 13 assists in the Bundesliga from his high-flying wing-back role — and it would be fair to assume that the Spaniard was top of the class.