The Real Madrid guard of honour snub that stunned the footballing world this week was more than a simple breach of tradition – it was a public display of power, and it begs the question of whether players are being given way more authority than they should.
When the Real Madrid team – led by Kylian Mbappe – refused their manager’s call to line up for Barcelona after their 3-2 triumph in the Spanish Super cup final, it felt like the players had more say in the team than their head coach.
Days after the incident, reports broke that Xabi Alonso was leaving Real Madrid as head coach to be replaced by former defender Alvaro Arbeloa. Some believed the departure of the former Bayern Leverkusen coach was due to the embarrassment of the public defiance he faced, suggesting he could no longer manage the egos and personalities within the Los Blancos squad.
In most leagues around the world, the guard of honour is supposed to be sacred. It is in that moment that rivalry pauses for a few minutes and the teams pay respect to the opponents for their sporting achievement.
Yet in the Spanish Super Cup final, that unwritten rule was trampled upon and Mbappe stood at the centre of it. His influence was impossible to miss, as he gestured to his teammates and head coach to leave the area where the guard of honour was to take place.
A Question of Who’s in Charge: Was Xabi Alonso Sacked Due to Player Power at Real Madrid?
What makes the Real Madrid guard of honour snub even more fascinating is its timing and the persona involved. Xabi Alonso, a coach known for discipline, structure, and collective responsibility – as shown during his two and a half years in Germany – is meant to be shaping Madrid into a unified, hard-running machine.
But when his players walked past Barcelona without acknowledgment, it raised a far more uncomfortable question: how much control did Alonso truly have when global superstars like Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Vinicius can decide otherwise? Would the trend continue when Florentino Perez decided to appoint another coach?
Also, Mbappe – who led the walk-out – is not the captain or vice, positions that traditionally hold the highest authority in the squad after the coach. The Frenchman did not even start the match, only coming on in the 76th minute.
This shows just how far player power now stretches at Real Madrid: a substitute, without the armband, was still able to set the tone of a moment meant to represent unity and respect.
Agreed, Mbappe is their talisman and has been a marquee signing since joining the club, but in every phase of elite football there is a hierarchy and a chain of authority that must be respected. No individual, no matter how influential, should be allowed to override the collective standards of the institution.
Barcelona Reacts to the Unsportsmanlike Behaviour of the Los Blancos: Laporta’s Comments on the Real Madrid Guard of Honor Snub
Following the incident, Barcelona president Joan Laporta weighed in on the controversy, expressing his disappointment at the attitude Mbappé and his teammates displayed after the final. He said:
“I was surprised by what he did. In victory and in defeat, you have to be generous and respectful. This is sport, and you must maintain normal behaviour. I believe that we, in victory, were generous and respected the opposing team. That is why I cannot understand it.”
By leading the Real Madrid guard of honour snub of Barcelona, Mbappe and his teammates have set a negative precedent for the youth teams, and if the model is followed, it will definitely lead to the undermining of the very spirit of the sport.
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The Clashes That Cut Alonso’s Madrid Tenure Short
Xabi Alonso’s reign at Real Madrid ended just seven months in charge – a period marked by repeated internal tensions and growing friction within the squad. Those clashes, more than results alone, ultimately brought his tenure to a premature close.
Earlier in the season, Fede Valverde publicly voiced his frustration at being deployed at right-back, while Vinícius Junior had a heated exchange with Alonso after being substituted in El Clasico, angrily declaring on the touchline, “It’s better I leave.”
Alonso also faced discontent from Rodrygo over limited minutes, and tactically struggled to rebalance the team following Jude Bellingham’s return, particularly in integrating Arda Guler into a coherent system. Behind the scenes, he was also reported to have pushed for new signings – requests the club declined – further straining an already fragile relationship between coach and hierarchy.
His replacement, former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has spent his entire coaching career developing within the club’s youth academy since 2020.
During his time in charge of the Castilla, he led the U19 team to a historic treble in the 2022/23 season, winning the league, the youth Copa del Rey, and the Copa de Campeones.
Amid the tension in the Madrid fanbase, it forces one to question the age-old debate: does a mid-season sacking genuinely improve team performance in the coming weeks or does it provide a short-lived ‘new manager bounce?’
If that momentum is enough to help Madrid overturn Barcelona’s four-point lead at the top of the La Liga table, it may be a gamble worth taking.
Real Madrid’s guard of honour snub of Barcelona was not just a refusal to clap. It was a moment that changed everything – an incident that should never have happened. Sure, players and coaches sometimes clash, and miscommunications occur. But what happened in the Spanish Super Cup final went beyond a simple misunderstanding. It was a clear and deliberate refusal to follow orders.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Ball Raw Images
Recording Date: 11.01.2026
