Xabi Alonso faced the media for the first time on Monday after being appointed Chelsea manager in May and beginning work on the training pitch last week.
It was the first opportunity to ask why Alonso, who enjoyed a successful playing career at Liverpool and won the Champions League with the club in 2005, did not end up becoming the Reds’ manager.
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Alonso was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool this summer as a potential replacement for Arne Slot. However, he had reportedly not been in contact with the Reds in the weeks before taking the Chelsea job.
Liverpool were expected to continue with Slot before making the decision to sack him after a trophyless second season. Slot’s replacement, Andoni Iraola, shares the same agent as childhood friend Alonso.
The Chelsea boss has explained that his decision to join Stamford Bridge was simply “about timings”. Asked by BBC Sport why he chose Chelsea over Liverpool, Alonso addressed the circumstances behind his move to west London.
Alonso said: “Well, it is about timings. 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 becomes Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager under BlueCo, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. His predecessors, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, were titled head coaches.
The Blues missed out on European football after a final-day defeat at Sunderland left them 10th in the Premier League. Alonso takes the manager title but will still work alongside the club’s five-man sporting director team on recruitment.
Asked if the title gave him more authority, Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid in January, said: “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.”