Xabi Alonso has revealed that his decision to join Chelsea instead of returning to Liverpool came down to 'timings'. The Spaniard was confirmed as Liam Rosenior's successor in May and was officially unveiled at Stamford Bridge on Monday afternoon, having already taken his first training sessions at Cobham last week.
Before moving to west London, Alonso had been widely tipped to take over at Liverpool, fueled by speculation around Arne Slot's struggles to get the Reds on form and Alonso's decorated five-year playing career at Anfield. However, despite being a free agent since January, Alonso is not believed to have held talks with Liverpool before signing with Chelsea. Slot remained at the club until long after Alonso's move to Chelsea was confirmed, and was eventually replaced by former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.
Alonso on Choosing Chelsea
'It is about timings,' Alonso told BBC Sport when asked why he joined Chelsea over Liverpool. '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.'
Alonso will soon embark on a lengthy pre-season tour of Asia and Oceania, after which he will face a rare season without European football. Chelsea missed out on qualification for the Conference League by a single point last season.
Ambition to Return to Europe
Speaking at his unveiling, Alonso set his sights on getting Chelsea back into continental competition. 'Well, for sure that's a goal, but to reach that goal you need to do many right things and to be part of that process, how we want to play, how we want to see ourselves and how we want to approach the game, wherever we go, that's my job,' he said.
'That's what I'm really looking forward to. We have not the whole squad at the moment, we have some bits, but early days and happy early days so far. For sure we want to be there and time will tell, but we are ambitious to be in Chelsea, we need to share that energy, that ambition and as well that hunger to want to have success.'
