Liverpool fans already love Xabi Alonso.
The Spanish midfielder was part of the team that won the Champions League in 2005, the FA Cup the following year and was the brain of arguably the best Liverpool team in the Premier League era.
Alonso left the club in 2009 for Real Madrid, but remains a Liverpool fan, and a fan favourite amongst the club’s supporters.
However, his popularity may go up a notch or two when fans discover the player the club were about to sign in 2004 before Alonso arrived – Joey Barton.
The Rangers’ midfielder reveals in “No Nonsense”, his new autobiography, that he was on the verge of joining the club, rivals of his boyhood team Everton, after Steven Gerrard agitated for Liverpool to get him.
However, Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier was replaced by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2004, and the move never materialised.
“Had things panned out differently, I could have made the obsessive debate about the mutual suitability of the Gerrard-Lampard axis redundant,” Barton says.
“From what I gathered, Steven Gerrard agitated to get Liverpool to sign me in 2004, because he felt we had the potential to forge a partnership. I met with Gerard Houllier at Melwood, and agreed everything verbally. A deal was close to being concluded but then he was sacked that summer. It was never revived.”
Liverpool signed Alonso from Real Sociedad, and Barton never forgave the player for “stealing” his move.
“Xabi and I had history. He blamed me for knocking him out in what he thought was a deliberate clash of heads in one of our earliest contests, and I blamed him for stealing my move to Liverpool.
“All that remained to be agreed with (Manchester) City was the fee, when Rafa Benitez took over from Gerard Houllier. I was in Dubai when I was informed that he had instead decided to sign a kid from Real Sociedad who had just broken into the Spanish national team.
“That turned out to be £10.7m well spent. Xabi is one hell of a player, whose passes have a great range and accuracy. Whenever we played, I sought to get the game on my terms, which were relentlessly physical.”
Barton took his revenge on Alonso in a game between Newcastle United and Liverpool at Anfield in 2009, landing a two-footed lunge on the Spanish midfielder.
“Thirteen minutes remained. Liverpool were two up, cruising and playing keep ball. The Kop conducted an incessant, infuriating chant of ‘Ole, ole, ole!’
“Xabi retained the ball near the corner flag fractionally longer than was prudent. That gave me the opportunity to fly in, and disguise my malicious intent as best as I could. Alonso milked the moment with a barrel roll. I expected a yellow and was shown a red.”
The incident led to a bust-up in the dressing room following the game between Barton and then-Newcastle manager Alan Shearer, who called the midfielder a “fucking coward.” Barton retaliated by mocking the standard of Shearer’s training sessions at the club.
When Shearer’s assistant Iain Dowie attempted to intervene, Barton said: “You keep it shut, boxing-glove head.”
