News: Xabi Alonso, FC Basel, Paris Saint-Germain

It was at most a small bombshell that Fabrizio Romano dropped yesterday: Xabi Alonso has reportedly signed a three-year contract with Real Madrid. A move that has been in the works since roughly the dawn of humankind. What is new is the information that Alonso is set to take over before the Club World Cup. This presents the 43-year-old with the not entirely unwieldy task of fulfilling the struggling Madrid club's last hope of a title this season. But he only has 20 days between the end of the season in Spain and the start of the Club World Cup. Conditions are anything but ideal for Leverkusen's championship-winning coach, especially since Real Madrid have hardly presented themselves as title-winning in recent weeks. It is therefore questionable whether those in charge did themselves a favor by pushing Alonso, who actually only wanted to take over after the tournament, to take up his post quickly. After all, if he misses out on the title, he could quickly find himself in a position of weakness. Alonso knows from his own experience: mistakes are not forgiven at Real Madrid.