Xabi Alonso Retires And Transfers To Bayern Munich On The Same Day!

Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso had quite the exciting day on Wednesday. In a move that many expected, Alonso started the day by announcing on his Twitter account that he had decided to retire from the Spanish Men’s National Soccer team and no longer compete in international competitions. Alonso played 11 years with Spain and his 115 caps rank 5^th all-time in Spanish history.

Alonso was a leader on the Spanish team and seemingly the one common thread over a decade of Spanish soccer. He helped lead his team to victories at the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cup as well as the grandest prize of them all, the cup del mundo trophy which Spain won in South Africa in 2010. After Spain was eliminated in stunning fashion at this year’s World Cup in Brazil however, many in the football world believed Alonso’s time with the team had come to an end. Despite the 32 year-old retiring on his own terms, many believe the decision to not have Alonso return to the club had already been made by the Spanish FA.

Hours after Alonso tweeted his retirement, news broke that the Real Madrid midfielder had been transferred to Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich for $8.6 million dollars. As the club announced their newest transfer, Mehdi Benatia, Bayern officials told reporters that they had already agreed with Alonso on the terms and were now just finalizing everything with Real Madrid on the transfer fee.

The move between the European super clubs is an interesting one as Bayern sent Toni Kroos to Real Madrid earlier this month and is now getting Alonso back in return. Bayern needs a short term replacement for Javi Martinez who suffered a season ending knee injury last month. Alonso reunites with fellow Spaniard and Bayern coach, Pep Guardiola and will be a suitable replacement for Martinez in the middle of the pitch.