Xabi Alonso has said there is one simple reason why his return to the Premier League took him to Chelsea rather than Liverpool.
Earlier this year, the former Reds midfielder was strongly tipped to take over from Arne Slot when the latter was coming under increasing pressure at Anfield, and there were reports in May that he’d even be prepared to wait for LFC if they were to dispense with the Dutchman.
However, with FSG seemingly not being convinced by the Spaniard, he was instead named as the Blues’ new manager on 17 May, just under a fortnight before Liverpool pulled the trigger on Slot’s reign, with the Merseyside club appointing Andoni Iraola shortly afterwards.
Just as our new head coach held his introductory press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Monday, Alonso did likewise in west London as he begins his tenure as Chelsea manager.
The 2005 Champions League winner was asked why he opted for the job at Stamford Bridge rather than a sentimental return to Liverpool, and he simply answered (via BBC Sport): “Well, it is about timings.”
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For Alonso to take the Chelsea job just 13 days before Slot was sacked would suggest that he didn’t expect the Dutchman to be given his P45 at Anfield. In his defence, that announcement on 30 May was a bolt from the blue, with widespread reporting that LFC would keep faith with the 47-year-old.
Would the Spaniard have held on if he’d sensed that there’d be a vacancy at his former club? Did he feel that an offer from FSG would never come? Possibly, but it’s a question which’ll remain unanswered unless he were to address it explicitly.
Many Liverpool fans may well have been disappointed to see a much-loved former player choosing to team up with one of our biggest rivals, and a direct Premier League rival at that, but in the end he made his choice.
So too did the Anfield hierarchy by not hanging around to appoint Iraola after dismissing Slot, even though the former Bournemouth boss doesn’t quite have as distinguished a CV as Alonso, who famously led Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German double and a Europa League final in 2024.
Obviously we’d have loved to have our former midfielder back in L4, and not just because of those past ties with the Merseysiders, but his fellow countryman seems like a very shrewd appointment who came across glowingly during his introductory press conference today.
Let’s hope that history will look back on this summer’s sliding doors moments on the managerial front as a turn of events for which Liverpool can be glad rather than rueful.
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