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.

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Category: English Premier League

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Diane

Timmy, the worst is that she was about to give birth when the team was departing and he only asked to take a later flight so that he could be there when the baby arrived. He would have been there soon after the rest of the team arrived. So it was a matter of his "priorities" that Rafa had a hissy fit about. I think Alonso proved both his loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for the team continuously over the years, not least of which was his leadership in the 2005 victory. This was not Rafa's best moment. To add insult to injury: Real Madrid!!!??? Best luck to Xabi -- and hopes that the rest of RM play poorly!
yowie11

and i wouldnt be complaining abt lucas...
Andres

I for one I'm glad that rafa is a dumb ass ( sorry miss rafa and rafa juniors ) because of his stupidity we got a world class CM , xabi would prolly still be at liverpool had rafa not tried to pimp him around the whole summer last summer
David

Liverpool pretty much got what they dished out when they tried to pry Gareth Berry from Villa last summer. That rafa had the nerve to compare Xabi to Berry is laughable.
Vinod

Juventus could have bought him last summer for a third of the price Real paid for him. They were linked to him for most of the summer. As an Interista, I'm grateful they didn't, and went and bought that fool of a Poulsen instead.
timmyg

You're also forgetting the cold shoulder that Rafa gave Alonso when Xavi missed the first leg against Chelsea in the 2008 CL semifinal because Alonso was caring for his wife who was expecting.

Neither will ever come out and say that, but it caused the rift in my mind.