Alonso arrived at Liverpool with a good reputation in Real Sociedad in Spain but not as the player who would pull the strings at the heart of Liverpool along with Steven Gerrard. Alonso left Liverpool under a cloud as they had tried to replace him the previous summer with Gareth Barry. The loss of Alonso was a huge blow to Liverpool and they have not found a good enough replacement for the Spaniard at the club.

Alonso has won the world and European cup, the champions league as well as winning La Liga with Madrid last year. His contract expires in 2 year and he is looking to reject a new contract from Madrid in order to secure a move next summer. The 30 year old is not getting any younger and Madrid only have a year or so left to try and cash in on one of their prized assets.

Madrid have an array of midfielders, so it is not surprising that they would be willing to let the player go. The usual clubs would be interested i.e. Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool would also be interested in bringing the player back to the club where he made such an impact.