Steven Gerrard has played with some of the best midfielders of all time during his illustrious career, but it took him just one training session to realise that his former Liverpool teammate Xabi Alonso was special.
He named the current Bayer Leverkusen boss the best midfielder he ever played with ‘by some distance’ and praised then-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez for his ‘clever’ move to buy Alonso for the club in 2004.
However, Gerrard also shifted blame ‘entirely’ onto Benitez for selling the former Spain international to Real Madrid five years later, calling the decision ‘disastrous’ in his column for the Daily Mail nearly 10 years ago.
Alonso became Liverpool’s most expensive departure at £30m and went on to win five major trophies in Spain, including his second Champions League title in 2013/14, following a European triumph with the Reds in 2004/05.
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Gerrard Praises ‘Royalty’ Xabi Alonso
As the best central midfielder he ever played alongside
Gerrard, writing for the Daily Mail in 2015, hailed Alonso as the best midfielder he ever played with and revealed it took just one training session to realise how good the Spaniard was:
“It was clear Alonso was royalty after our first training session together in August 2004, and Rafa Benitez, who had been so clever to buy him in the first place, was equally stupid to sell him to Real Madrid five years later.
“He was, by some distance, the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.”
Gerrard said he blames Benitez ‘entirely’ for Liverpool’s loss of Alonso, who could have been playing for the Reds a lot longer had he stayed:
“It was a disastrous decision to sell Alonso, and especially for just $39 million — which looks a snip now when you reflect on all he has achieved subsequently, both at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and with Spain, winning the Euros and the World Cup.
“I blame Rafa entirely for the loss of Alonso. He could still have been playing for Liverpool six or seven years after he left in 2009.”
Alonso joined Liverpool for a bargain £10.5m from Real Sociedad in 2004 and spent five seasons at Anfield, winning the Champions League, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield.
He won the prestigious European competition in his first season with the Reds and scored the second-half leveller in the final against AC Milan in 2005. The Spaniard remains one of Liverpool’s greatest midfielders of the Premier League era, with many fans still feeling sour over his departure to Real Madrid in 2009.
|
Xabi Alonso’s Liverpool Stats (2004-2009) |
|
|---|---|
|
Games |
210 |
|
Goals |
18 |
|
Assists |
19 |
|
Yellow cards |
42 |
|
Red cards |
1 |
|
Minutes played |
16,430 |
Alonso also spent five years in the Spanish capital, winning La Liga, two Copas del Rey, and another Champions League, although he missed the triumph over Atletico Madrid in 2014 due to suspension.
The 43-year-old retired in 2017 after a three-year spell with Bayern Munich and went on to become one of the best managers in world football, leading Bayer Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title last season.
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Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 29-03-25.
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