August 2009
"To me personally [Xabi Alonso’s departure] was a mega blow. He was a player I used to love playing with, a player who was on the same wavelength if you like. He knew exactly where I was and I knew where he was and we had a fantastic understanding. So for us to lose Xabi is a massive blow, but you know we have confidence and faith in the manager that he will be replaced. We’ve brought in Aquilani, who I’ve seen bits and bobs of and he looks very promising. A very good player, but time will tell whether he can fill Xabi’s boots, because they are big, big boots to fill.”
September 2009
“Xabi Alonso was priceless for me. The speed of his delivery was essential because it gave us the advantage over the defenders. I really miss him because I scored a lot of goals that were down to his speed of thought. The service, the way he controlled games, to lose that was big for us. He is one of the best in the world in that position. He reminded me of Claude Makelele, one of those players who are only really appreciated by their team-mates. The Chelsea players would pay tribute to Makelele, Zinedine Zidane talked about him at Real Madrid, too. The speed those guys play the ball is scary.”
November 2009
“It’s always going to be difficult when you lose one of the best players in the world – and people are finally realizing that’s what Xabi is, on the back of his form for Real Madrid and the difference in us from last year. I’ve known that Xabi is one of the best for a very long time and of course any team in the world is going to miss a guy like that. We’ve got other midfielders here doing a job, but it will take a while before Alonso’s out of our system because he was such a top player. Defensively, because of his intelligence at picking up his positions, he was so good at protecting the central defenders. And going forward, he was one of the best passers of the ball I’ve ever played with: someone who could create something out of nothing. He was sometimes underrated when he was here because of the likes of Fernando Torres and that, but when you play with him and without him you realize how much he meant to you, both as a player and the team as a whole…
[About his departure I was] devastated, yeah. Devastated. But there was nothing I could do about it. Xabi said a long time ago he wanted another chapter in his career and he finally got it and his team-mates and the coaches couldn’t stand in his way. And good luck to him, you know? We just have to say thanks and move forward without him.”
September 2011
“Obviously when Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler left, and the Michael Owens and stuff, they sort of had their best years at Liverpool, so when you move on it doesn’t really hurt as much. But when Xabi left he was about to go into his prime. Watching him for the last eighteen months or so he’s been at Real Madrid, he has been in top form, he has gone on and won a World Cup and has been one of Real Madrid’s most important players. And really he should still have a red shirt on and putting on them performances for us.
Xabi was devastated to leave. Obviously when the Real Madrid option came up for him, he couldn’t turn that down because he realized that maybe he wasn’t wanted at Liverpool. It was frustrating. I know Xabi didn’t want to leave, he loved it here, he was settled, he was enjoying his football… But you know, ‘never say never’, maybe he’ll wear the red shirt again.”