Of all the players to transfer out of Liverpool during Steven Gerrard’s tenure, two stand out above the rest.
He was talking to Jamie Carragher and The Overlap crew in a podcast released on Thursday morning, and there was plenty to dissect from a Liverpool perspective.
Gerrard defended Arne Slot, and discussed what his managerial ambitions are at Liverpool. Then, they went on to talk about former teammates, and the two departures that stung the most — he names Spanish duo Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso.
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Arne Slot before Brighton and Hove Albion v Liverpool - Premier League. Enzo Maresca Manager on the sidelines during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Leicester City.
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Steven Gerrard describes Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso heartbreak
Gerrard’s picks should come as no surprise. Torres was an exceptional striker who formed a lethal partnership with the Liverpool captain before deciding to leave for Chelsea. As for Alonso, the draw of returning to Spain spurred him to agree to a transfer to Real Madrid.
These exits still sting, as he explains on Stick To Football.
He says: “I thought that was heartbreaking [when Alonso left] as well and also the Torres one as well because you think to yourself we’ve put so much in to try and close the gap. It felt like we were getting closer and then you take one of them big, yeah, big signings out.
“It can set you back a long time, especially when you’ve played with them and you think they’re the people that can win games for you.”
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Alonso and Torres were the level of player who could make the difference in what the team could achieve. In their primes, they were good enough to drive Liverpool on to silverware.
The midfielder had ambitions elsewhere in Europe, and Torres claims Liverpool lied to him. That’s why he made the switch to Stamford Bridge.
What could have been.
Liverpool football club players (from R)
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Jamie Carragher on Rafa Benitez and Xabi Alonso’s messy Liverpool exit
Carragher honed in on Liverpool-linked Alonso, and how Rafa Benitez didn’t help the situation when the holding midfielder was pondering an exit.
As he explains: “It got a bit messy. So Alonso, I think, wanted to leave at that stage. He wasn’t playing as much. Yeah, Rafa was trying to bring Gareth Barry in. It was almost going to be a bit of a swap. Whatever. It doesn’t happen.
“Then Alonso was in a magnificent season. We almost win the league. We get close. It feels like a great team. But the reason I sort of I look at Rafa, I think it was almost like he wanted to win this fight with Alonso about staying or going.
“And I’ve just thought, okay, you’ve had that fight here. We’ve now had an amazing season. Alonso has been fantastic. It’s a bit like you’ve won. You’ve won the fight because the player is playing amazing. Sign a new contract. It’s like, move this team forward. And then it got to the summer. It was almost like, right, we’re going to carry on this fight again.”
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Benitez was notoriously straightforward with his players, sometimes to a fault. For him, Alonso’s desire to leave didn’t present a way back into the long-term plans. Liverpool really were on the precipice of contending.
Carragher thinks Alonso might have stayed if the manager was more keen on the idea. In the end, he left for the Spanish capital in 2009, winning La Liga and the Champions League.
He never returned to Anfield as a player, but maybe we will see him back on the sidelines as a coach in the future. Same for Gerrard.
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