Gerrard in extraordinary blast at old manager Benitez.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has aimed an extraordinary blast at his old manager Rafael Benitez over the “stupid” sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid in 2009.
The Reds had one of the finest midfield pairings in Europe at the time, with Alonso and Gerrard complenenting each other’s style of play perfectly.
Gerrard hailed Alonso as one of the best players he’s played alongside, and feels Benitez was wrong to let him leave when he did, and for relatively cheap at just £30m.
“It was clear Alonso was royalty after our first training session together in August 2004, and Rafa Benitez, who had been so clever to buy him in the first place, was equally stupid to sell him to Real Madrid five years later,” Gerrard writes in his autobiography.
“He was, by some distance, the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.
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“It was a disastrous decision to sell Alonso, and especially for just £30million – which looks a snip now when you reflect on all he has achieved subsequently, both at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and with Spain, winning the Euros and the World Cup.
“I blame Rafa entirely for the loss of Alonso. He could still have been playing for Liverpool six or seven years after he left in 2009.”