World

Real Madrid confirmed the signing of former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso on Tuesday evening.

    Alonso, who had spent five years playing in the Premier League and who won the 2005 Champions League with Liverpool had previously handed in a written transfer request after a breakdown in relations with Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez.

Real Madrid has finally agreed to pay over 30 million euros for the Spain international after weeks of difficult negotiations with the English club.

    The 27-year-old will earn around 4.5 million euros a year and has agreed a five-year deal with the club.

    He becomes Real Madrid’ s seventh pre-season signing and the second Liverpool paper to join the Real this summer after Alvaro Arbeloa returned to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last week.

    Real Madrid has now spent around 255 million euros on new players this summer since Florentino Perez returned to the presidency with a walkover win in June after no other candidate stood for election against him him.

    It has been a long route to Real Madrid for Xabi Alonso, a player whose father Pitxi Alonso played for Real Sociedad and Madrid’ s bitter rivals FC Barcelona.