The Xabi Alonso Lesson: If You’re Going To Sell, Sell.

By: chris | September 2nd, 2009

Footballers have egos. A revelation! No.

So often we hear footballers claim “such and such team wanted me more”, only for fans to retort “he chased the cheque” upon hearing this new team provided a newer, bigger paycheck. And both are right. Yes, the player took a bigger paycheck, but to many athletes, and many people in general, a bigger paycheck means the prospective new employer simply has a greater desire for your services. They want you more. And isn’t that one of the basic human needs?

So when Liverpool started flogging Xabi Alonso last summer, a transfer to Juventus seemingly on the cards, it hurt him a bit. But Liverpool had a wonderful season and Xabi had a wonderful year, and suddenly he was no longer on the transfer list. Only problem is, Xabi decided to put himself back there. He was the one who wanted to go but the club wanted to keep him, an about-turn from the summer before.

It was a very difficult decision for me to make,” he told Sky Sports News. “After five years I have experienced wonderful nights at Anfield, to have experienced the support of probably the best fans in the world.

“That’s why I have always been very grateful and I will always have them in my mind and it has been a pleasure. Last summer the club [told] me that I might have to be sold to find funds for new players. It was a difficult decision or difficult moment to accept that. I accepted that as a professional and that moment probably changed my mind.”

Eventually, as you’ve heard, he joined Florentino’s Galacticos 2.0.

And this is a lesson in the footballer ego. When it’s made clear somebody either no longer wants or needs your services, you want to find an exit. The job suddenly loses a degree of joy. And while Xabi may have had a good year, that won’t always be the case. And should that good year come, it will make it all the harder to lose your star the next summer when time has not healed all wounds.

So let this be a lesson to football clubs of the world: if you’re going to sell, sell.