Xabi Alonso has revealed Rafael Benitez’s interest in Gareth Barry last summer forced him to quit Liverpool Football Club at the end of the 2008/09 campaign.

Benitez made no secret of his desire to sign Barry, then of Aston Villa, in the summer of 2008, a deal which would likely have resulted in the sale of Alonso.

However, the move for the England international fell through and the Spaniard went on to prove his worth for the Reds, which paved the way for a £30million switch to Real Madrid last summer.

"The pursuit of Gareth Barry took some time for me to accept and, in all honesty, it changed the course of my future," Alonso told The People.

"I did get over it but it did take time for me to accept what had happened to me. After what happened I knew I had to tell Rafa that I wanted to go to Madrid when they came knocking.”

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