The real reason Liverpool chose Andoni Iraola instead of Xabi Alonso as their next manager has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with timing or availability.
Despite overwhelming calls to sack Arne Slot mid-season, Liverpool held firm and waited for their end-of-season review before deciding the Dutchman’s fate. On Saturday, the result of that review became clear when Liverpool fired Slot.
The hunt for a new manager is on, but in truth, it’s pretty much already a done deal.
Andoni Iraola, 43, is primed to become the new Liverpool manager. He’s rejected interest from Crystal Palace, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan to take the Anfield job.
Fabrizio Romano has already declared Iraola will be Liverpool’s next manager. One report has even claimed an agreement is 100 percent confirmed.
Yet despite Liverpool moving so swiftly and decisively for Iraola, there is a line of thinking right now that had the Reds sacked Slot sooner, they might have put their eggs in Xabi Alonso’s basket.
He was the main name most heavily linked with succeeding Slot throughout most of 2026. But of course, Alonso was hired by Chelsea in mid-May, at which point Liverpool still hadn’t decided whether to stick or twist on Slot.
It’s a situation that has delivered claims Liverpool have scored an own goal and missed out on Alonso as a result of indecision.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, with Athletic reporter, Oliver Kay, now explaining the real reason why Liverpool chose Iraola over Alonso.
Firstly, Bundesliga football expert, Kevin Hatchard, suggested on X that Liverpool never opened dialogue with Alonso due to concerns over his playing style.
Liverpool harboured concerns over Xabi Alonso playing style
“I think this idea that #lfc missed out on Xabi Alonso because they sacked Slot too late is wide of the mark,” wrote Hatchard.
“He’s a great coach and a Liverpool legend, but if you want aggressive, fast-paced, up-and-at-em football, he’s not your guy. Iraola much closer to Klopp’s “vollgas” style.”
Trusted reporter Ben Jacobs is among those to have confirmed Liverpool owners FSG want to return to the front-foot and aggressive brand of football that characterised the Jurgen Klopp years.
Anfield is only a fortress when the crowd are engaged, and Slot’s turgid, old-age pensioner approach to the game proved to be a cure for insomnia.
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Alonso’s style places a similar emphasis on control rather than higher tempo. His Chelsea side will often be seen playing extra passes in tight spaces, where an Iraola side will dispense with the pleasantries and force the ball forward sooner rather than later.
And according to Kay, Liverpool as far back as March – two months before Chelsea hired Alonso – had already determined they had no desire to appoint Alonso if Slot were dismissed at a later date.
Kay wrote in response to Hatchard’s post: “It was spelt out to me in March that if they were looking for a new coach (which wasn’t their intention at that point), it wouldn’t be Alonso – pretty much for the reasons you mention.
“If they’d wanted to, [Liverpool] could very easily have spoken to him before he took the Chelsea job. (He has the same agent as Iraola after all.) They didn’t.”
Alonso’s stylistic approach has proven successful, and let’s not forget, he did guide Bayer Leverkusen to the first Bundesliga title in their history.
However, his approach can hardly be called exciting, and as we saw with Slot, poor results and a lacklustre playing style can and often does prove a lethal combination when managing at the biggest clubs.
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