Alonso denies Real squad schism reports

Real Madrid star Xabi Alonso strongly refuted the media reports that indicate that the club is currently a divided unit.

Alonso gave a wide-ranging interview to Vanity Fair magazine where he outlined details of both his personal and professional lives. 

He was asked about the rumoured split within the Madrid camp where coach Jose Mourinho is said to have fallen out of favour with the club hierarchy as well as key players such as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos. 

The Spain international attempted to give a firm clarification on the state of affairs at the club within the interview and insisted that the squad is not in any form of turmoil. 

"It's [the squad] not divided. I am informed of everything and I can see the difference between reality and what gets said in the press," he said. 

"We cannot spend our whole time denying everything that comes out. We are, and should be, a team, we have to keep sticking together, because this is a team sport."

On Casillas and Mourinho's relationship, he opined: "They maintain a professional coach-player relationship, but they don't have to go out for beers with each other.

"He's [Mourinho] very good at connecting with the players and he's always had to put up with criticism. This year has been more difficult because the team is losing more than normal. 

"He's a smart guy and one of the best managers in the world." 

Interestingly, the 31-year-old father of two also revealed that Jontxu, his four-year-old son, has only recently found out about his father's occupation. 

"One day he came home and asked me "Daddy, do you know Cristiano [Ronaldo]?" I told him he was my team-mate."

Alonso and his team-mates will return to La Liga action on Saturday when they take on Deportivo la Coruna at the Riazor Stadium.  

Source: Fox Sport