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Real Madrid has reached an agreement with German champions Bayern Munich for the sale of veteran Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso for a fee of £8m, according to reports.
The news was first brought to light today by Spanish television network LaSexta. There had been growing rumours of Alonso’ departure with Manchester United named as a possible destination, after he was held out of the starting lineup in last Monday’s fixture against Cordoba.
However, most rumours waved by the common fan with nothing substantial from either the player or the Spanish capital club indicate that a move was on the cards. The move to Germany comes as a shock with the 32-year-old involved in all of Real’s Super Cup derbies against Atletico Madrid.
Alonso joined Real Madrid at the beginning of the 2009/10 season from Liverpool. In his 5 seasons at the club, he donned white of Los Blancos 158 times, scoring 4 goals for the current European champions. He has enjoyed great team success in this spell, winning La Liga in 2012 and the Champions League last season. On an individual front, Alonso was named “La Liga Best Midfielder” in 2012.
The Bavarians had been at alternatives to bolster their centre of midfield which currently feature the trio of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philip Lahm and Thiago Alcantara. The summer however brought bad news for the Bavariansafter Toni Kroos moved to Real Madrid and Javi Martinez was ruled out for the season with an ACL tear.
Even at the age of 32, Alonso is still one of the better Registas in the game. The move, however, looks like a rental for a few years where Alonso will likely be involved in a rotation for the spot with Philipp Lahm and Gianluca Gaudino.
Eminent German reporter Christian Falk of German magazine “Sport BILD” has also indicated that the interest in Xabi Alonso is real.
