Liverpool Will Miss Real Madrid Recruit Xabi Alonso – Jan Molby
Jan Molby understands the player's decision to depart, but believes it is a blow for the club...
<!--h3>Alan Dawson</h3-->
Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby, a two-time title winner with the Reds during the 1980s, believes that the decision to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid will hurt Rafael Benitez's side.
Alonso was a key cog in the Merseyside outfit's midfield, being granted the ball following central midfield partner Javier Mascherano's break-up play and initiating his own forward motions from a withdrawn position. His playmaking credentials allowed players such as Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres to fully flourish.
Alonso is the alleged last piece of Real Madrid's second Galactico regime, and the deal is expected to see 'Pool pocket around €35 million (£30m).
On the transfer, Molby told the BBC, “He’s doing what he thinks is right for his career. When he retires he’ll look back and see Liverpool and Real Madrid on his CV, and that’s a big thing.
“If you look at what’s happening at Real right now, you can sense that there could be something big in terms of what they’re capable of winning over the next few years, and Alonso feels he wants to be part of that.
“In the end he was desperate to go and join them, and I fully understand his decision.
“But Liverpool will miss him a lot. Everyone talks about Gerrard and Torres, but I think just behind them, Alonso was a crucial part of the directional play of the team.”