Alonso was never Liverpool's first choice, but beating him would boost Slot

Xabi Alonso was considered a major contender to replace Jurgen Klopp but returns to Anfield this week as manager of Bayer Leverkusen.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

There is a common misconception - perhaps driven by recent comments from Gary Neville - that Xabi Alonso was Liverpool’s first choice to succeed Jurgen Klopp.

But truth is, the Reds did not get close to declaring the Spaniard their number one managerial target for one simple reason: he withdrew from consideration before that was possible.

It was during the March international break that, through his agent Inaki Ibanez, Alonso informed Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes of his intention to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for at least one more season.

And so the club immediately excluded him from the process of due diligence that eventually saw them land on Feyenoord’s Arne Slot.

It has since been speculated that Alonso’s ‘rejection’ was a case of him biding his time for a vacancy at another of his former clubs, Real Madrid, to come up, but that is not Liverpool’s understanding.

As far as they are concerned, the Basque native instead saw value in remaining at the BayArena for two separate reasons.