‘Behind the curtains…’ – Xabi Alonso explains why he chose not to take Liverpool manager’s job
Xabi Alonso has publicly explained his reasons for not taking the Liverpool manager’s job when the position was up for grabs earlier this year.
Almost as soon as Jurgen Klopp announced in January that he’d be leaving at the end of the season, the Bayer Leverkusen boss became the early favourite to replace the German, not least because of his ties to Anfield from his playing career.
However, he confirmed in late March that he’d be staying put with the Bundesliga club, who he led to an unbeaten domestic double and the Europa League final.
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Speaking to CNN, Alonso outlined his decision not to take the Liverpool gig, saying: “All these decisions, they need to be thorough. You need to really think about them, and it was more about what I had, not what I’m missing. For sure, my bond with Liverpool is there and it’s still there, so there’s no, any kind of issue with that.”
Asked whether he’d spoken to FSG about the vacancy before Arne Slot was ultimately appointed, the Spaniard replied: “That’s kind of behind the curtains.”
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Considering his status as a legendary former Reds player and his exceptional work in charge of Leverkusen, most Liverpool fans would probably have been yearning for Alonso to be handed the reins straight after Klopp.
Appointing him certainly would’ve helped to mitigate some of the devastation from the German’s departure, but ultimately it wasn’t to be as the 42-year-old eventually found it impossible to give up what he already had at the BayArena.
It’s understandable that he may have been reluctant to put his Anfield legacy on the line by coming in as the immediate successor to one of the greatest manager’s in the club history, although his ambiguous ‘behind the curtains’ remark seems to suggest that there was indeed some dialogue with FSG earlier in the year.
Michael Edwards’ record during his previous reign as sporting director at Liverpool has earned him the right for his judgement to be trusted, and we can only hope that his decision to hire Slot will prove to be the correct call.
It’s a pity for the Reds that Alonso opted against taking over from Klopp, but his reasons are fair. In any event, the main thing now is to back the new man in charge and trust in him to build upon his predecessor’s achievements.
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