Xabi Alonso ‘wants’ Real Madrid to sign ‘world-class’ Barcelona midfielder – report

Xabi Alonso would love Real Madrid to sign Pedri from Barcelona, according to a report in Spain, while Pep Guardiola has given his verdict on the outgoing Bayer Leverkusen manager.

Alonso has announced that he will leave Bayer at the end of the season. The former Madrid midfielder, who guided the German club to the Bundesliga title last season, will take over as the head coach of Los Blancos, with Carlo Ancelotti set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid have one of the strongest squads in the world, but failure to get past the Champions League quarter-finals and losing the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona have exposed shortcomings.

Los Blancos could also lose their LaLiga crown to bitter rivals Barcelona, who are four points clear at the top of the league table with just four more rounds of matches remaining.

It has now been sensationally claimed in a Spanish report that Alonso would love to sign one of Barcelona’s best players for Madrid.

Defensa Central has reported that Alonso ‘would like Pedri to be at Real Madrid’.

The outgoing Bayer boss believes that, given the Spain international midfielder’s profile, ‘he would be a great fit for this team’ and ‘would be an ideal asset’.

Barcelona and Madrid are bitter rivals, and having played for Los Blancos, Alonso is fully aware of that.

That is why the 43-year-old former Spain international midfielder ‘knows that signing Pedri is impossible’, although the headline in the report says that Alonso ‘wants to sign the Barcelona midfielder’.

Alonso understands that signing Pedri from Barcelona is ‘not a feasible operation’, but perhaps the idea is to bring in someone of the 22-year-old Spain international midfielder’s ilk.

Described as “a world-class player” by his Barcelona team-mate Marc Casado, Pedri has scored six goals and given seven assists in 55 matches in all competitions for the Blaugrana this season.

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Pep Guardiola gives verdict on Xabi Alonso

Despite being a former Barcelona head coach, Guardiola could not help but rave about the Madrid-bound Alonso on Friday.

Guardiola signed Alonso for Bayern Munich in 2014, and they went on to win the Bundesliga title twice.

As a manager, Alonso led Bayer to the domestic double – the Bundesliga and the German Cup – last season, and Guardiola is a huge fan.

BBC Sport quotes Guardiola as saying: “Wow, his impact on Leverkusen has been unbelievable,” he said. “I think all the managers who had the opportunity and the pleasure to have him as a player always realised that he would be a manager.

“Going to Germany and fighting with Bayern Munich is always so difficult. Last season they were unbeaten except for the last game against Atalanta in the Europa League final.

“The way they played, the way he improved the players – I think Leverkusen themselves have to be so proud of the partnership that they had for just three years.”

Latest Real Madrid news: Alexander-Arnold response, De Bruyne offer

The Spanish media have revealed the 12-word response that Trent Alexander-Arnold gave to Liverpool when they offered him a contract with a better salary package than Real Madrid.

Madrid have been offered the chance to Kevin De Bruyne, according to a report, which has revealed Los Blancos’ response.

Meanwhile, Madrid president Florentino Perez wants to sign a Sunderland sensation.

The last five players to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid

By Samuel Bannister

Javier Saviola (2007): The most recent player to move from Barcelona to Real Madrid (or vice versa), Saviola moved on a free transfer in the summer of 2007. The Argentine attacker had scored 70 goals for Barcelona, but he only managed five for Madrid, where he was rarely a regular starter and left after two years.

Luis Figo (2000): The most high-profile example of a player switching between these two clubs, Figo became the most expensive player in history when Madrid activated his €62m buyout clause to lure him from Barcelona in one of football’s most controversial transfers. The Portuguese star won the Ballon d’Or later that year, and infamously, a couple of years later, a pig’s head would be thrown at him at Camp Nou. The time he spent at either club was about equal; over five seasons each, he got 45 goals from 249 games for Barcelona and 58 goals from 245 games for Madrid.

Michael Laudrup (1994): Laudrup was 30 when Madrid bought him from Barcelona in a €9.6m move. His five years at Barcelona had included 55 goals, but he only stayed at Madrid for two years, in which he scored 15 times. But the move did allow him to win LaLiga for a fifth consecutive time in the 1994-95 campaign after ending his Barcelona spell with four in a row.

Luis Milla (1990): Not since the 1960s had a Spanish player moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid until Milla did in 1990 – and none have since him either. A product of the former’s academy, he actually ended up playing more for Madrid. A defensive midfielder, he earned more than 200 appearances for his new club and won La Liga twice after his move, which came on the back of a contract dispute with Johan Cruyff.

Bernd Schuster (1988): Barcelona brought Schuster to La Liga in 1980 and he went on to complete eight seasons with the club. The German midfielder then joined Madrid for a two-year stint, sandwiched in between a spell at their next biggest rivals, since he joined Atletico Madrid afterwards. Schuster later returned to Real Madrid as their head coach to win La Liga in the 2007-08 season