Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he was
devastated by Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid this
summer.
The 27-year-old Spaniard was reportedly close to leaving Anfield
12 month's ago with Aston Villa skipper Gareth Barry expected to
join the Merseysiders.
However, neither move materialised, with Alonso going on to have
one of his best seasons in a Liverpool shirt, anchoring Rafael
Benitez's outfit to within a whisker of pipping Manchester United
to the Premier League title.
The former Real Sociedad midfielder - who has won 64 caps for
Spain - did finally leave Liverpool this year, joining Karim
Benzema, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo as part of Real's £200 million
summer spending spree.
And Gerrard has confessed that seeing his midfield partner
depart for pastures new was difficult to take.
"Devastated, yeah. Devastated. But there was nothing I could do
about it," he said in the December issue of FourFourTwo
magazine, out today.
"Xabi said a long time ago that he wanted another chapter in his
career and finally he got it and his team-mates and the coaches
couldn't stand in his way. We just have to say thanks and move
forward without him."
Alonso's exit has coincided with the Reds' disastrous start to
the 2009/10 campaign, with five league defeats already three more
than they suffered in the whole of last season, while losses to
Fiorentina and Lyon in the Champions League group phase have left
their hopes of European glory in serious doubt.
The Spaniard's absence - combined with injuries to both Gerrard
and striker Fernando Torres - has been highlighted as one of the
key reasons behind the club's dismal early season form.
And Gerrard says it is only now - with Alonso gone -
that some people are beginning to realise just how influential a
player he was.
"It's always going to be different when you lose one of the best
players in the world - and people are finally realising that's what
he is, on the back of his form for Real Madrid and the difference
in us from last year," he said.
"We've got other midfielders here doing a good job but it will
take a while before Alonso's out of our system because he was such
a top player.
"Defensively, because of his intelligence at picking up his
positions, he was so good at protecting the central defenders.
"And going forward, he was one of the best passers of the ball
I've ever seen; someone who could create something out of
nothing.
"He was sometimes underrated when he was here because of Torres,
but when you play with him and without him you realise how much he
meant to you, both as a player and the team as a whole."