Xabi Alonso breaks silence on why he ruled himself out of Liverpool job after Jurgen Klopp quit

XABI ALONSO has broken his silence on why he ruled himself out of the Liverpool job at the end of last season.

Ex-Reds midfielder Alonso, 42, was the obvious candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp after the German confirmed he was leaving.

Alonso guided Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title last season without losing a game.

They also won the DFB Pokal and reached the Europa League final.

But Alonso then surprisingly announced he was going to stay at Leverkusen, removing any chance of him succeeding Klopp.

Now he has opened up about why that was the case when he was asked whether he ever seriously considered the job at Anfield.

To which he replied: "At that time I was focused, I had a big thing with the players and we were really focused on that."

Arne Slot ended up replacing Klopp and will come up against Alonso on Tuesday night when Liverpool host Leverkusen in the Champions League.

In the build-up to the game, Alonso, who is also being linked with Real Madrid, was quizzed on whether he could join Liverpool in the future.

He said: "Let’s talk about the game tomorrow, it’s more interesting than my future.

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"Let’s talk about the great players on both sides, that is what is in my head.

"For us it is a big challenge to come here. Liverpool at the moment is one of the best if not the best in Europe, they are showing that in a very strong Premier League and the Champions League.

"It’s a good squad, good coach. At Anfield, it’s a big challenge. We’re looking forward to it, let’s see what happens."

Slot has made a sensational start to life as Liverpool boss, winning eight of his opening 10 Premier League games as they sit two points clear at the top of the table.

Leverkusen are struggling in fourth in the Bundesliga, seven points adrift of Bayern Munich.

But they have picked up seven points from three Champions League matches, including wins over Feyenoord and AC Milan.