Liverpool fans of a certain age will remember the departure of Xabi Alonso as a truly painful memory and our club showing up to make the decision as Rafa Benitez wanted to replace the midfield maestro with Gareth Barry.
Speaking on the ‘Somos Liverpool’ podcast, the 62-year-old explained the decision: “People say: ‘Rafa was wrong because he sold Alonso’, no.
“Everything was very clear, we had Gerrard coming back [to a deeper role on the pitch] because Gerrard couldn’t play second striker all the time, with Mascherano and Lucas Leiva, and we thought Damien Plessis could maybe be [another midfield option] but it was not, they [Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas and Plessis] everyone could play in this position [Alonso’s position in midfield] but we didn’t have a left back or a left winger.
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“So Gareth Barry could be that option and with Alonso’s money 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 number 14 was much loved and showed how special he was as a footballer, and many of our supporters believed that the future Manchester City and Everton Utilitarian not to be in conditions to fit our midfield hero’s boots.
It is clear, however, that our former manager was greatly constrained by the financial constraints he was dealing with at the time and being in a position meant he wanted to take a calculated risk and capitalize on a key player.
Instead, we lost Alonso anyway because he felt unwanted and never brought in the man with the most Premier League appearances.
You can see Benítez’s opinion on Alonso and Barry (from minute 37:17) via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
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