Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso has announced he will pursue a career in football management having hung up his boots at the end of last season.
Alonso, who won 114 caps for Spain and won the Champions League twice during a glittering playing career, has been doing his coaching badges since his final game for Bayern Munich in May.
There were reports that the 35-year-old could be in line to return to Liverpool as a coach, where he would be reunited with the club’s Under-18s manager Steven Gerrard.
But Alonso, dressed in a smart suit beside a football pitch, has released a cryptic message which suggests his future lies elsewhere as a man in the dugout as much as at the training ground.
In a short Instagram story, he said: ‘After 17 years in the game, I have considered the next step in my career. I have decided to go into management. Find out soon. #HereToCreate.’
Alonso announced his decision to call time on his career in March this year, bringing to an end more than a decade of trophy-laden success at the top level.
Having started his career at Real Sociedad, Alonso joined Liverpool in 2004 and was an influential part of Benítez’s side that won an unforgettable Champions League.
In his five years at the Bernabeu with Madrid, he was part of another winning Champions League campaign, despite being suspended for the final in 2014, as well as a league title and two Copa del Rey triumphs.
Alonso announced his retirement from international football after 114 games, two European Championships, and one World Cup in August 2014 before he joined his final club Bayern, winning three successive Bundesliga titles among other honours.
COMMENTS