Xabi Alonso is wasting no time. The new Real Madrid boss reportedly has a clear idea of his starting lineup for the 2025/26 La Liga opener — and it includes Franco Mastantuono, the 17-year-old prodigy from River Plate.

Unsurprisingly given their domination of the UEFA Champions League in the 21st century, Real Madrid are record five-time winners of the FIFA Club World Cup.However, such an impressive history in the competition will matter little heading into this summer’s reformatted and expanded iteration of the tournament,

The Real Madrid question Xabi Alonso must solve ahead of Club World Cup - Real Madrid have always been driven by star players - can Alonso break the cycle by imposing a tactical ideology to take the club into a new era?