Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has said that his decision to join Chelsea over Liverpool was “about timings.”
The Spaniard, who spent five seasons as a Liverpool player between 2004 and 2009, was appointed as Chelsea boss in May and took charge of his first training session at the club last week.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Alonso was asked why he joined Chelsea over Liverpool, who sacked head coach Arne Slot two weeks after Alonso arrived in west London.
“Well, it is about timings,” Alonso said. “I am here today on my first day at Stamford Bridge, talking to you.
“I am looking forward to this challenge, a big challenge, and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs and I am looking forward to having success here.”
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Alonso was linked with the Liverpool role in 2024, as Jürgen Klopp was due to leave, and again this year as the clamour for Slot’s departure intensified.
Many also pointed out that he had got excellent performances out of Liverpool duo Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong while they played under him at Bayer Leverkusen.
But Alonso was appointed at Chelsea instead, and given the title of manager rather than the head coach role his predecessors had held.
Asked about whether that title gave him more authority, Alonso told BBC Sport: “What I like is that we work together and we are all part of the decisions we take, we all feel responsible for that.
“The ultimate goal is clear and, for me, it is the way it should be.
“We are confident that we are doing the right things in the right way. The potential is there. I think there is a strong base and a good team already there.
“We need to reinforce it in the right way and take good decisions to do that. The feeling is that we are aligned with the sporting directors. The ultimate goal is to have a good team, build the right squad and we are in that moment.”
