Liverpool have told Real Madrid there will be no compromise over their asking price for Xabi Alonso as the Spanish midfielder prepares to join Rafael Benítez's team in Norway tonight rather than seal a protracted move to the Bernabéu.
Alonso was allowed to remain in Spain following Liverpool's pre-season friendly against Espanyol on Sunday, along with several compatriots from Benítez's squad. The 27-year-old is expected to travel with Liverpool to Oslo this evening, however, ahead of a friendly against FC Lyn tomorrow night, as Real have yet to meet the Anfield club's £30m valuation of the influential playmaker.
The saga of Alonso's future appeared close to conclusion after a meeting between Liverpool's new managing director, Christian Purslow, and the executive director-general of Real, José Angel Sánchez, in Barcelona on Sunday. But the meeting merely impressed on Real that only an offer of £30m, plus additional bonus payments, would tempt Liverpool to sell at this late stage in the close season. Purslow has confirmed there was no agreement during his meeting with Sánchez. "This [meeting] has only served to put our positions on the table. We need to continue talking," he said.
Real had not returned with an improvement on their existing £25m bid by close of business yesterday, although sources in Madrid claim the club's president, Florentino Pérez, believes it remains a case of when and not if Alonso becomes his latest signing.
Benítez has lined up Roma's £18m-rated Alberto Aquilani as a replacement for Alonso should the deal go through, although the Liverpool manager remains reluctant to lose an established Premier League asset ahead of a season that carries expectations of the title. Alonso, who has submitted a transfer request in an effort to force through a move to Madrid, believes Sunday's meeting represents an important breakthrough in the exhaustive process.
"It's reassuring to know that Madrid and Liverpool are talking seriously now," he told the Spanish newspaper AS. "I decided a long time ago to stay on the margin of everything that was happening. My stance has been clear, as you all know. I'm a professional and I must wait for an agreement to be reached but I hope it is resolved soon, for better or for worse."
The Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera, meanwhile, has dismissed concerns over the team's pre-season form, with even Benítez criticising the work rate in the 3–0 loss to Espanyol on Sunday. "Some of us came back from our national teams a little bit later and have only had 10 or 12 days' training," said Riera. "We need a little bit more before the start of the season, but we will be ready. Of course we are disappointed because we lost. Even if it's a friendly match, you always want to win but, as I said, it is all about being ready for the very first game."
