Real Madrid’s midfielder Xabi Alonso gestures during a press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid yesterday. (AFP)
Bayern Munich have completed the transfer of midfielder Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid, the German champions said yesterday.
The 32-year-old World Cup winner from 2010 passed a medical in Germany on Thursday having already agreed terms with Bayern and has signed a two-year contract.
Bayern have not confirmed the transfer fee paid to Real but media reports suggest it is around 8 million euros (10.5 million dollars).
Alonso is the second signing for Bayern this week following the arrival of Moroccan defender Mehdi Benatia. Coach Pep Guardiola has moved quickly to strengthen the squad after Javi Martinez tore cruciate ligaments in the season-opening Super Cup defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
The newcomers are in the squad for Saturday’s trip to Schalke but Guardiola did not confirm they would feature at his Friday press conference.
“Both are fit, both will travel. I don’t know yet if they will play,” he said.
But with Bastian Schweinsteiger struggling for fitness and Thiago Alacantara also injured, Alonso could quickly get a chance to claim a place in the Munich midfield, even without a training session at his new club.
“As a professional, you always search for new motivation,” Alonso said Friday. “I think I needed the transfer to lift myself.
“When Real Madrid won the Champions League for the 10th time, it was clear to me a new cycle would begin at the club. I had the impression that now was also the start of a new cycle.
“I believe that it is the right moment for a change.”
But the Spaniard also said that it his toughest decision. “It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to take,” Alonso told a press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. “Leaving Madrid is never easy.”
“You have to know when to say goodbye and I think that this was the best moment to do so,” he added.
“The club did not want me to go, it was my decision and I asked them to understand,” he said. “The club didn’t share my idea but they understood my need to start a new chapter, to start from zero in a new club.”
“After winning the ‘Decima’ (10th title), I sensed a new cycle opening at the club and that I should do the same,” he said.
“Thanks for everything. That’s all,” Alonso added on his Twitter account after the press conference.
Alonso, who Wednesday retired from international duty after earning 114 caps for Spain, has enjoyed a glittering career. In addition to winning the 2010 World Cup, he has claimed two European Championships and two Champions Leagues alongside various domestic honours.
“We believe it is necessary (to sign Alonso) for our team, to meet the requirements of our fans and the club as a whole,” Bayern sport director Matthias Sammer told the club website. “It was a purely sporting decision to help us immediately and raise our quality.
“Alonso’s constitution means he is capable of playing at the very highest level for at least another two years. We’re optimistic, and our squad will be in very, very good shape.”
