Former Reds star Xabi Alonso lifts the lid on his blockbuster decision to snub Liverpool in favour of Stamford Bridge.
For two out of the last three summers, Xabi Alonso has basically been at the top of every Liverpool fan’s wishlist to take over at Anfield.
If you asked a Liverpool fan who they wanted in the dugout over two of the last three summers, the answer was almost always Xabi Alonso.
There’s just something about the romance of a former Anfield hero returning to lead the club, especially after seeing him work absolute miracles over in Germany. For most supporters, he wasn't just a name on a shortlist he was the only guy they wanted to see walking out of that Anfield tunnel.
Following Jurgen Klopp's departure from Merseyside in 2024, the Spaniard decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, despite being approached by Liverpool, Bayern Munich and others. Then, earlier this summer, when things quickly unravelled for Arne Slot, it seemed a near-certainty before becoming the new Chelsea head coach he would return to Merseyside.
Instead, to the surprise of literally everyone, it was confirmed on 17 May that he had instead been appointed Chelsea manager, a fortnight before Slot was sacked by Liverpool, much to the anger of many fans.
That feeling has, somewhat, subsided for now, with most supporters content by the appointment of Andoni Iraola. Nevertheless, that feeling will certainly re-emerge if Iraola does not get off to a fast start, or Alonso works wonders at Stamford Bridge.
On Monday, speaking for the first time to the media he did an interview with BBC Sport since landing the Chelsea job, and he finally lifted the lid of why he ended up in West London, rather than at Anfield.
How Xabi Alonso came to be Chelsea manager rather than Liverpool
"Well, it is about timings. I am here today on my first day at Stamford Bridge, talking to you. I am looking forward to this challenge, a big challenge, and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs and I am looking forward to having success here."
As one might anticipate, Alonso did not answer the question directly, but the first snippet of his quote "it is about timings" is the most revealing.
🗣️ "It's about timings."
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 13, 2026
Xabi Alonso on being asked whether he was ever approached by Liverpool as he begins his new challenge at Chelsea, a club he describes as "one of the biggest". pic.twitter.com/9q2XqTZDlh
At the time, all the reporting suggested that Liverpool board intended to stick with Slot and give him an extra season to turn things around. However, considering how bad the end of the campaign was, winning only three of their final ten Premier League matches, his position became untenable.
Thus, it is not a stretch to infer that Alonso isn't overly pleased with how events panned out.
Did the Liverpool board actually want to appoint Xabi Alonso?
Call it a conspiracy theory if you want, but the way everything went down, it only makes sense if the Liverpool hierarchy had no intention of appointing Alonso, for whatever reason. They chose to wait for the Spaniard to come off the market before sacking Slot and getting in the man they truly wanted Iraola. Had they done this at a time when Alonso was available, they would have appeared crazy.
It will never be possible to prove this theory one way or another, but the fact that, according to reports, Liverpool never made contact with Alonso at any point, despite the fact he had been out of work since 12 January, makes no sense otherwise does it?
Have Liverpool missed out not appointing Xabi Alonso?
Alonso made 210 appearances for Liverpool, winning the Emirates FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, scoring the equaliser against A.C. Milan at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı during the famous miracle of İstanbul. 17 years after being sold to Real Madrid for £30 million, will they regret not bringing him back to Anfield?
In his first managerial job, he worked genuine miracles at Bayer Leverkusen. In 2023/24, his first full season in charge, he led them to their first-ever Bundesliga title, becoming the only Germany top-flight club to ever go an entire campaign unbeaten.
They also remain the only side since 2012 to get their hands on the Meisterschale not named Bayern Munich, but that's not all.
They also won the DFB-Pokal and reached the Europa League Final, not losing any of their first 52 matches that season, falling at the last in Dublin against Atalanta, but still enjoying one of the best campaigns by any club anywhere across Europe in history.
This landed Alonso the Real Madrid job 12 months ago, tasked with instilling discipline and a tactical plan, replacing Carlo Ancelotti. During his six month spell in charge at the Bernabéu, he lost only six of 34 matches, but never truly had command of the dressing room.
The split between coach and talisman Kylian Mbappé was clearest after January's Super copa de España Final defeat to Barcelona. Alonso instructed the players to form a guard of honour for Barça, as tradition, but Mbappé was having none of that, demanding players ignore the coach, and most followed the Frenchman. He was sacked the following day.
Despite this, what he achieved in the Bundesliga means Alonso is still regarded as one of the best managers around. His reputation took something of a hit in Madrid, to what extent is up for debate, but he can ill-afford another miserable stint somewhere, making Chelsea a curious choice.
Liverpool supporters certainly believe they missed a trick not appointing the Spaniard. As documented by Yahoo Sport, they quote fans labelling this a "catastrophic own goal" and the decision makers "inept", in shock that the "obvious replacement" was overlooked.
Only time will tell whether Liverpool or Chelsea landed the better Spanish manager, but their first encounter of next season, taking place on Saturday 5th December (subject to change) at Stamford Bridge, will be spicy.
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