Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Liverpool agree £30m fee with Real Madrid for Xabi Alonso


Liverpool have finally agreed a fee with Real Madrid for the transfer of midfielder Xabi Alonso, bringing to an end one of the longest-running transfer stories of the summer.

The fee is believed to be £30million and the deal is now subject to Alonso passing a medical with the La Liga club.

A statement on Liverpool's website said: "The terms of the deal will remain confidential and undisclosed."

Christian Purslow, Liverpool's managing director, met Real Madrid counterpart Jose Angel Sanchez in Barcelona on Sunday to thrash out the deal.

Real had been reluctant to meet Liverpool's asking price – £30 million up front with a further £3 million dependent on his success at the Bernabeu – with the club's president Florentino Perez angry at being held to ransom over a player he does not see as a marketing and merchandise investment.

Real had previously intimated they were only prepared to pay a total of £26 million.

Talks between the clubs had reached a stalemate but the dynamic of the negotiations was changed by Alonso's decision last week to hand in a formal transfer request.

Perez was under pressure from his coach Manuel Pellegrini and technical director Jorge Valdano to submit an improved offer.

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