Rio Ferdinand reveals why he’s ‘surprised’ Xabi Alonso has become Chelsea manager
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Get ready for the World Cup Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Alonso has signed a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty) McFarlane was in the dugout for Chelsea’s FA Cup final defeat to Man City (Picture: Getty) Alonso has been heavily linked with a return to Merseyside going back to his time in charge of Leverkusen and mounting pressure over Arne Slot’s future had only intensified this talk. ‘I’m actually surprised he’s gone there.
I’m not saying he’s the wrong choice,’ Ferdinand said. ‘The reason I’m surprised he’s gone there is because I thought he would have been patient enough to wait and see how the Arne Slot situation at Liverpool would play out. ‘Ex-Liverpool player, loved the club, always speaks well about the club, and you just think that was a relationship waiting to happen behind the scenes. I can’t just sit here, hope and wait, and be guessing about what’s going to happen at Liverpool if an opportunity like this is here”… it’s a big club, Chelsea.’ Alonso steered Leverkusen to the club’s first-ever Bundesliga title in 2024 (Picture: Getty) According to Ferdinand, one of Alonso’s primary objectives will be to simply ‘bring the group together’ at Chelsea after what has been a bitterly disappointing campaign in the Premier League. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s doing,’ the six-time Premier League winner added. ‘I like seeing young managers getting in these roles and getting opportunities because I think it’s nice to see that and he knows the Premier League.
He’s competing against the Bayern Munichs of this world, winning the league and doing ridiculously well so he knows how to put a team together. ‘What Chelsea is somebody who can bring a group of players together and really harness the talent that they have within that club. ‘He’s done that at one club and the time will tell now if he can do that at Chelsea.’ Liverpool are expected to keep faith with Slot (Picture: Getty) Reacting to the news on Sky Sports, Ferdinand’s former team-mate Gary Neville suggested the appointment indicated Slot’s position in charge of Liverpool was safe. Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions.