Xabi Alonso breaks silence on Liverpool links - but refuses to confirm one thing

Xabi Alonso has broken his silence on Liverpool trying to sign him earlier this year. The Spaniard ultimately remained with Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool didn't exactly pursue Xabi Alonso publicly in 2024 but reports linking them with their former midfielder were everywhere. England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France - it was the talk of football earlier this year.

Of course, they weren't alone in courting Alonso. Bayern Munich had him as their no.1 choice to succeed Thomas Tuchel. There was talk of Real Madrid wanting to tie him down, too (and still could next year).

But Alonso decided to reject any offers and remain with Bayer Leverkusen. He'd go on to make history with the German club, winning the domestic double unbeaten - the first time anyone has ever done that.

In fact, Leverkusen lost jut once all season in all competitions. Atalanta crushed them 3-0 in the UEFA Europa League final, preventing them from an unbeaten treble right at the death.

Xabi Alonso on Liverpool

Alonso gave an interview to CNN this week where the topic of Liverpool's interest came up. It's something he hasn't directly talked about before but he gave a fairly open, if not entirely revealing, answer here.

“All these decisions, they need to be thorough," said Alonso. "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.”

Though, he wouldn't completely admit whether there had been direct talks with Liverpool.

“That’s kind of behind the curtains," he said when asked.

The answer is straightforward, then. Alonso saw what he had at Leverkusen and loved it enough that he saw no reason to give it up.

Now, down the line, Liverpool will almost certainly try to lure Alonso to Anfield - assuming Arne Slot isn't about to embark on some 20-year Anfield career, anyway.

You can fully expect more links down the years and one day, Alonso may even find himself in the Liverpool dugout.