Why Xabi Alonso preferred Chelsea to Liverpool

Why Xabi Alonso preferred Chelsea to Liverpool Xabi Alonso is on the verge of becoming the next Chelsea manager, eschewing a dream return to former club Liverpool. Multiple reports claim that an agreement has been reached on a four-year contract and an announcement could be made as soon as Sunday. All that’s left is for the agents and solicitors to dot the I’s and cross the T’s on the paperwork.

Landing Alonso is something of a coup for the Blues, who have sacked two managers this season. It was only a year ago when he was the most in-demand coach on the scene and could have had his pick of clubs following his success at Bayer Leverkusen. He took the reins at Real Madrid, but he only lasted seven months into a three-year deal at the Bernabeu.

The 44-year-old enjoyed a strong start in the Spanish capital, winning all but one of his first 11 La Liga matches. The honeymoon didn’t last long, though, as the superstar egos in the dressing room proved too difficult to handle and he was out by January. It is somewhat ironic, then, that he should choose to join Chelsea, which has had its fair share of backstage drama throughout the season.

Between Enzo Maresca airing his grievances with the hierarchy in public to certain players openly talking about potentially playing for other clubs (or, in Enzo Fernandez’ specific case, living in another city), there has been a lot of noise emanating out of Stamford Bridge. It begs the question: why choose the chaos of Chelsea over a dream return to Liverpool? Alonso is one of the most beloved footballers to have played for the Reds this century and will forever remain a club legend for playing a key role in their iconic Champions League win in 2005.