Xabi Alonso: "PSG is a team that took time to develop; we're still just getting started."

Real Madrid 's 4-0 defeat to PSG in the Club World Cup semi-final leaves a Real Madrid side reeling, as they are embarking on a new era with Xabi Alonso at the helm. After the match, the Tolosa-born coach shared his thoughts and asserted that while Luis Enrique's team "has been built over time," the Madrid native is "just getting started."

"It's time to rest, reset, refresh and start from scratch, which seems obvious to me, but of course, with this result many may fall into the temptation of starting with that burden, starting from scratch, doing self-criticism and seeing what was done well , that there are things that were done well in the World Cup, and clean up everything that was done wrong," the coach said in the press conference following the 4-0 defeat against PSG in the Club World Cup semi-finals.

The Tolosa native acknowledged that the situation after the two defensive errors in the first 10 minutes, already 2-0 down, "was obviously complicated." " PSG is a team that has been built over time. We're still just getting started, and just because we want to be more courageous doesn't mean we're going to get better. The feeling wasn't the best. The shame was conceding the 3-0 before halftime," he analyzed.

"We faced an opponent who is in very good shape. Just as others have suffered, we suffered today. They're at a good level, and we're starting a new phase. There's a lot of room for improvement, many things we want to do better, and today hurts. We have to be self-critical; our level hasn't been good enough. But it will tell us things for the future about how we want to develop, how we want to approach things to be able to compete at a much better level," he reflected.

Alonso made it clear that this defeat falls at the end of the 2024-2025 season and "is not the start of the next one." "We'll take things from this game for the future, we'll also take positive things. I think, regardless of today, we're leaving as a better team. Although it's difficult to explain now, I'm convinced it will serve as a starting point for us to start next season better," he argued.

"I'm leaving with certainties, and this match, this championship, has told me a lot about who we are and what we need to improve, and the positive things I've seen from the players and everything . I'm leaving with a certain composition going into next year, which is going to be different because of the players we're going to get back, because of the changes there are going to be," he added.

After starting Gonzalo García, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Júnior together, Alonso was "self-critical" of his decisions during the tournament and what he may have "failed." " We shouldn't let this end of the season influence the start of the next one too much . I think it will be a complete restart from scratch," he reiterated.

"The bad news for me is that it won't be the last defeat. We're going to lose more times, we have to win many more times, but I think anyone who thinks they'll never lose is fooling themselves. That's what it takes. We have to accept it. Tomorrow we begin another phase of refreshing our heads a bit , which we'll all need, and that it has enough of an impact so we can start well, that we don't forget it, but that we don't let today's game drag us down too much," he noted.

The Basque coach announced that he wants to "build a team that plays as a unit," with "everyone involved" and "that feeling and that spirit." "We've come this far; we're stuck in the penultimate stage . It hurts, and well, now we'll see what happens," he expressed.

And now he did talk about future reinforcements. "During the World Cup, we didn't talk much about the composition of the squad, but from now on, we're always open to improvements. I can't go into more detail, but we're always here with the goal of improving, and there's room for improvement," he revealed.

One of the players whose future is being rumored is Rodrygo Goes, who also didn't play a single minute against PSG. " There haven't been any decisions about the future throughout this entire championship , nor have we rotated much. The context we'll start with will be a little different," he commented.

"It's not the desired ending, it's a bit of a bittersweet ending, but Luka (Modric) won't be remembered for today's game. He'll be remembered for many other great matches, because he's a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. We've had the pleasure and honor of being with him on the pitch and now on the touchline. He'll be remembered for many more good things than just the 25 minutes he played today," he concluded about the Croatian, who is leaving the club after 13 years.