Xabi Alonso: `It was time for a change`

Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso felt it was time for something different when the club proposed to sell him in an attempt to raise funds to buy England midfielder Gareth Barry.

`Last summer when the club proposed that I may have to be sold to sign new players it was difficult to accept that,` the 27-year-old said to Sky Sports News.

`But I accepted it as a professional and that moment changed my mind and maybe from that moment it was a time for a change,` he continued.

There were some speculations about a troubled relationship between Alonso and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez but the midfielder insists that he never had any problems with his former manager.

`There have been a couple of rumours but I have always said it was simply a professional relationship. I always tried to do what he asked of me on the pitch and do my talking on the pitch and nothing further than that,’ Alonso said.

The Spanish international spent five years at Anfield and told Sky Sports News that it was a very difficult decision to leave Liverpool.

Alonso also praised the fans of the English giants: `To have experienced the support of the best fans in the world, I am very grateful and I will always have them in my mind.`