Xabi Alonso has admitted that he rejected a move to the Premier League to keep his Liverpool legacy intact. The midfielder has left Real Madrid to join Bayern Munich in a £5m deal.
He had been linked with moves to both Chelsea and Man United this summer but the Spaniard rejected the Prem in favour of the Bundesliga. Why? To protect his Liverpool status. Alonso said: “I had five great years at Liverpool and I would rather just keep that memory as it is. The interest came in from Bayern in the last two weeks and it’s the right decision.”
He also added: “At the end of last season I knew that winning the Champions League would usher in a new era for the club and I need to start a new era too.
“I detected that this might be the moment when it was right to leave. We fought hard to win the club’s tenth European Cup after losing three semi-finals, it was a weight lifted and a good time to move on.”
Bayern Munich are currently in the middle of a midfield crisis, with Thiago, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez all unavailable. With the signing of Alonso, boss Pep Guardiola now has some cover in the centre of the park.
By Charlie Gregory
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