Steven Gerrard has revealed that he had to talk former Liverpool manager out of signing Gareth Barry for the Anfield side.
Alonso departed the club in 2009, when he moved to Real Madrid after five years on Merseyside, but Gerrard believes that more should have been done to keep the Spaniard, who retired in the summer after a three-year stint with Bayern Munich.
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He was a vital player with the Reds in the heart of the midfield alongside Gerrard, and the club icon says that Barry, who was then with Aston Villa, was originally earmarked as his replacement.
“He wanted to move Xabi on and bring in Gareth,” Gerrard told BT Sport. "Now, for me that wasn’t the right move, although I’m a big fan of Gareth Barry.
“I’d rather have him in to play alongside Xabi because I think they could have worked together.
“I don’t think it was the right move from a Liverpool point of view to replace Xabi with Gareth. The fans love Xabi, he’s a world-class player, and for me, Rafa should have been doing everything to keep him and not have him move on.”
Alberto Aquilani was eventually named as the successor to Alonso, though the Italian managed only 18 Premier League appearances in his one year at Anfield.
Barry, meanwhile, went to Manchester City that summer before a spell at Everton. He is now with West Brom.
