Liverpool fans of a certain age will remember the departure of Xabi Alonso as a truly painful memory and that our club appeared to make the decision as Rafa Benitez wanted to replace the midfield maestro with Gareth Barry.
Speaking on the ‘We are Liverpool’ podcast, the 62-year-old explained the decision: “People say: ‘Rafa made a mistake because he sold Alonso’, no.
“Everything was very clear, we had Gerrard who was coming back [to a deeper role on the pitch] because Gerrard couldn’t play as a second-striker all the time, with Mascherano and with Lucas Leiva, and we thought Damien Plessis maybe could be [another midfield option] but he wasn’t, they [Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas and Plessis] could all play in this position [Alonso’s position in midfield] but we didn’t have a left full-back or left winger.
“Then, Gareth Barry could be that option and with the money for Alonso we could bring in Barry and another striker or second-striker”.
This will always be a decision that many will not forgive the Spaniard for, as our former No.14 was much-loved and went on to prove how special he was as a footballer – with many of our supporters believing that the future Manchester City and Everton utility man to not be fit to lace the boots of our midfield hero.
It’s clear though that our former manager was heavily restrained by the financial limitations he was dealing with at the time and being stocked in one position meant that he wanted to make a calculated risk and cash in on a key player.
Instead, we lost Alonso anyway because he felt unwanted and never even brought in the man with the most Premier League appearances.
You can watch Benitez’s thoughts on Alonso and Barry (from 37:17) via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
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