Real Madrid's decision to part ways with Xabi Alonso this week has once again thrust the spotlight onto one of world soccer's enduring narratives: Kylian Mbappé and an almost constant revolving door of managers around him. That striking observation captures how Mbappé's journey from a teenage prodigy at Monaco to a global superstar at Paris Saint-Germain and now Real Madrid has dovetailed with relentless changes in leadership, at both club and international levels. The latest episode unfolded on Monday, when Real Madrid and Alonso agreed to part ways after a tumultuous seven-month stint in the dugout. Alonso had taken over following Carlo Ancelotti's departure last year, but inconsistent results and mounting pressure saw the club turn to Arbeloa as the next head coach. https://twitter.com/USER_ID/status/2011196564073484422 The Mbappé effect and managerial instability There's no doubt Mbappé's career has been punctuated by coaching changes. From early days in Ligue 1 to the seismic move to Real Madrid in 2024, he has worked under a string of high-profile bosses, many of whom have left their posts before long. Part of that trend reflects broader realities in elite club football, where the bar for success is ruthlessly high, and patience is in short supply. But there's also a sense that managing a generational talent like Mbappé brings unique challenges: integrating his immense individual influence with a coherent tactical identity for the team. When Ancelotti, one of the most decorated coaches in the modern era, was in charge at Real Madrid, he publicly praised what Mbappé brought to the squad and insisted on a balanced role for him on the pitch. Yet even big-name managers can find it hard to sustain long tenures in environments where expectations are stratospheric, and legacies are measured in trophies and style. Alonso's own brief reign at the Bernabéu was marked by flashes of promise, including a strong start to the La Liga campaign that earned him manager of the month honors, but uneven results ultimately saw confidence ebb and Madrid's hierarchy look elsewhere. For Mbappé, the revolving coaching door isn't just a trivia stat. Frequent changes at the top can reshape a team's tactical approach, training emphasis, and even locker room dynamics, all of which intersect with how a talismanic player like him experiences the season week by week. Alonso himself once addressed the challenge of managing a squad built around elite individuals, acknowledging that workload and rotation must be handled carefully. "What do you mean by 'absolute starter'?... Accept it as normal, because you have to know how to distribute the workload," he said last season about players like Mbappé whose presence always looms large. At Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé worked with a succession of bosses, including Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, and Christophe Galtier, illustrating how even established managers haven't always found a long runway with him.
