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.

Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has backed new head coach Xabi Alonso to make "big changes" at the club, saying that he won't be afraid to drop anyone.

New Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has quickly identified a major issue in his playing squad in Spain’s capital.That’s according to Marca, who have late this week provided an insight into the