Anfield_Sam 🏆

The first direct contacts between Liverpool, represented personally by Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, and Xabi Alonso, together with his agency IDUB Global and agent Iñaki Ibáñez, already began back in December of last year, at a time where Arne Slot was going through a horrendous phase at Liverpool and Xabi Alonso himself was still employed by Real Madrid. Since then, the communication never truly stopped, and over weeks and months the discussions intensified significantly behind the scenes, involving not only Xabi Alonso himself, but also members of his coaching circle such as Sebastián Parrilla. Talks stretched deep into spring, to the point where Xabi Alonso internally began feeling that an imminent appointment during the final stretch of the season was genuinely possible. This feeling was communicated towards assistants and even former Leverkusen players of his, who now play at Liverpool and remain personally very close to him. The problem, however, was that the more serious the process became, the more distant Liverpool’s senior hierarchy once again appeared. Throughout the negotiations there was increasingly a feeling of three steps forward, and then suddenly two steps back, with repeated indications that the final green light from FSG owner John W. Henry was still missing. Xabi Alonso maintained trust in the conversations, and still highly values Liverpool as his preferred destination, but as I already reported weeks ago first, Chelsea and Manchester City continued lurking aggressively in the background, exactly because Liverpool never fully committed, and therefore continuously kept hope alive elsewhere. This has now reached the stage where Chelsea genuinely believe they have serious chances of convincing Xabi Alonso, despite Liverpool still remaining his priority for a Premier League return. The Spaniard, however, does not appreciate feeling kept warm, or played with, especially considering the elite opportunities available to him across European football. Trust, honesty and clarity are extremely important values to Xabi Alonso, and with his determination to quickly return to coaching in the Premier League, both Chelsea and Manchester City remain viewed by him as highly attractive possibilities, largely because Liverpool continue hesitating at the decisive moment.