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Liverpool agrees to sell Alonso to Real Madrid

Xavi Alonso (AP) 

Liverpool never planned on selling Xabi Alonso, but in the end the Reds couldn't fight off Real Madrid.

One of the lengthier transfer sagas of the summer concluded on Tuesday with Liverpool agreeing to sell the Spanish international to Real Madrid for £30 million ($50.76 million).

For those who have lost track of everyone Real Madrid has brought in, here is the team's list of summer acquisitions:

  • Cristiano Ronaldo

  • Kaka

  • Karim Benzema

  • Xabi Alonso

  • Raul Albiol

  • Alvaro Arbeloa

  • Alvaro Negredo

  • Esteban Granero

The total cost for that haul? Try around £220 million ($372 million).

WOW.

North American soccer fans will be getting a close look at that exensive collection of talent this weekend when Real Madrid takes on Toronto FC on Friday at BMO Field and D.C. United at Fex Ex Field on Sunday.

What do you think of Alonso joining Real Madrid? Do you think Madrid has done enough to unseat Barcelona as Spain's top club? Think the team is still lacking a strong central defender? Looking forward to seeing Real Madrid play MLS teams this weekend?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. You will be missed, Xabi. Hopefully not too badly though. I believe it’s time to see if any of the Lucas/Plessis/Spearing trio can sink or swim.

    I’d love to see Aquilani or Cattermole come to Anfield for immediate cover, as I’ve heard rumors about recently.

    Rafa, go get someone to backup/pair with Torres!!

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  2. Did someone just talk about Franco? Because if so, I hope they were talking about Atletico Madrid as they were Franco’s team. But no one ever does research to make sure their facts are straight.

    Go ahead and see how much money they have made on CR shirts ALREADY and then ask how they are paying for it. Then you can ask LA how they got Beckham as well? 🙂

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  3. “WOW the NEW YORK YANKEE’s of soccer have struck again!”

    So who are Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, Bayern, Barca, etc.? The Red Sox? All these teams are the “Yankees” of soccer…

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  4. hahaha where are they getting the money?!?! the questions should be where AREN’T they getting the money to pay for this. also, Barca fans should take a serious look at their debt and then try and talk. they have about 1/3 less than Madrid. people are just mad about the prices, not the names. no one should be surprised seeing all those names on one team…that is what massive clubs do. so stop with the whole “ego” thing.

    Also, Negredo was a cool €5M and Granero a cool €4. Both were previously Madrid youth players and were both bought via a buy-back option. So I’m not sure why they would make the list. Even Albiol didn’t cost much.

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  5. Very sorry to see Xabi go, but I wouldn’t write off Liverpool’s chances this season. We don’t know yet who Rafa will bring in to replace him. It likely won’t be someone with better passing ability, but it may provide an opening for a better goal scorer behind Gerrard and Torres. Who knows, maybe Spearing gets a chance to win the job.

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  6. To ‘sg’ above saying premiere league is still
    best league from top to bottom. You are a joke and the
    premiere league has become a joke. If Eto went to Man U you might have a decent argument. La Liga has become the strongest league hands down. They have without argument the best two league teams in the world! With 3 of the best 5 players in the world playing for those two teams. Some would say 4 of 5 cause of Ibra! I bet you have a bias to the Premiere League huh? I however dont Im american and my favorite player is Torres! La Liga will dominate Chelsea is only premiere league with a chance.

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  7. Bottom Line! This will make for a good race in La Liga. Champions league final four last year (chelsea, arsenal, man u, and barca) the english are just angry cause this year THEY will be the league with one team in (chelsea) maybe two at best. The liverpool lovers who thought they may have a chance after CR’s departure are let down again, ha ha the only person I feel sorry for is Torres Liverpool is terrible! The Man U lovers are angry that City got Tevez to complement Robinho and are now better than United and right behind Chelsea in Premiere League. Barca will surley miss Eto and it will be seen how Ibra does as his replacment. There is just alot of hating going on cause Real Madrid aquired 2 of the best 5 for sure and possibly 2 of the best 3 players in the world! Premiere league has taken a big hit with all of this. Drogba and Torres need out of premiere league! And Bayern Munich the joke of the Champions League will surley win the Bundesliga, which is basically a B class league at this point, but have no chance in champions league. I hope Ronaldo is allowed to play sum ST for Real Madrid! Cant wait to see what will happen. Man U is gonna suck, liverpool is gonna suck, and Eto is gonna hate playin for Inter. Iys gonna b great I hate those stuck up brits. They will have to change the name of their league to The League Formerly known as The Premiere League! Haha

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  8. Dolan,

    Ronaldo’s salary is around 800k per month.

    They are backed by government run banks, so their debts are usually swept under the rug.

    The government will claim to have sold some real estate to “cover” their debts.

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  9. @lammetro or any euro-league expert

    As an American, I must plead some ignorance on this transfer system. How much is a player like C. Ronaldo’s salary at Madrid? Is it possible to cap a transfer fee? Where is all this money coming from? $372 million for eight players is asinine, even for Yankee standards.

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  10. Either that or… they sold their former training ground, which was located in an area where many companies wanted to develop, to clear their debt.

    But you all knew this already right?

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  11. Real Madrid cannot go bankrupt, they dont even have to pay back their debts.

    They are backed by the government. They government pays their debts by selling land.

    But you all knew this already right?

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  12. I forgot to mention…The reason Real Madrid is spending all this money is because they would rather go bankrupt then have Barca win the Champions League final in their home stadium.

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  13. I agree Adam…RM cant compete with the crisp passing and teamwork of Barca. RM, even with Xabi Alonso, will have trouble connecting their defense and offense. Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema cant slice and dice if they never get the ball.

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  14. Until Xavi and Iniesta lose something (together, Andres was noticably missing when the U.S. beat Spain), I’m sticking with that combo over Madrid. RM will score a ton of goals this year, but I question whether their midfield will ever get the ball against Barca. C. Ronaldo and Kaka are not exactly known for their defensive prowess.

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  15. Viva Real Madrid and Viva Capitalism! As a Madridista, the last few years have been tough (only two league titles — bah!).

    Out of the whole group, I really like what I have seen out of Granero. I hope Coach P keeps him on the field. This could also be the beginning of the end for Raul, which is sad but inevitable. Going to be tough leaving guys like Benzema and Higuain on the bench.

    Ives, you should also mention who will be leaving. Van der Vaart will be a goner soon, and probably Sneijder (if they can get Maicon, but probably even if they don’t). Salgado was bought out. They’ll clean house and get some cash back to offset the buying.

    And whoever said that Chelski fans better not be the ones complaining are dead-on. Great point.

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  16. CBA comes up next year.

    If you think the players deserve to be paid more, which is a common thread, where will that money come from?

    From the owners/investors? Money does not fall from trees as the saying is where will the o/i get their money from?

    From people showing up at matchday. Seattle MLS fans outside of Toronto or Los Angeles have embarrassed every MLS fan within a reasonable distance from their home team stadia.

    You want higher priced players? You want this or that talented players? Well the owners/investors are not a money tree – so unless you are a full season ticket holder for your club best for you to just call yourself a hypocrite and watch baseball.

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  17. Don’t understand the hate for Red Bull Leipzig either. East Germany has been extremely underrepresented in the Bundesliga and Red Bull’s investment might get the club there in 6 to 10 years. It’s not like they are buying a good club, this club is in the 5th tier of German football. Without Red Bull’s investment Saxony might never have Bundesliga football.

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  18. Real Madrid still needs a player that can attack the defense and set up all the others. Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema wont bring the ball to a dangerous position, they will have to be found in a dangerous position. Also, no way Drenthe is in the starting 11.

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  19. Does a salary cap make any difference in the realm where the real money tossed around is in transfer fees, not salaries?

    Maybe revenue sharing ala MLB would curb the excess better than an American-style cap.

    Posted by: tippos | August 04, 2009 at 06:00 PM

    Wow, an American finally got that salary caps don’t mean squat if you are transferring players.

    Everyone hates Real Madrid but it’s mostly EPL guys. Just wait. The EPL is nothing and if it wasn’t for foreign ownership laws in England not one would be the way they are now.

    Oh and keep in mind. Real Madrid is not owned by one person. They are in fact a true club of people that pay money to be part of the club (socios). Everyone votes for the president and has a say on what the team does. But you all knew this right?

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  20. Does a salary cap make any difference in the realm where the real money tossed around is in transfer fees, not salaries?

    Maybe revenue sharing ala MLB would curb the excess better than an American-style cap.

    Reply
  21. if the entire spanish team were to be transfered right now, the cost would be well over $500 mil (EASY!) while the cost of the US team would be $50 mil.

    jsut food for thought. spain is loaded.

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  22. Correct me if I am wrong. But it’s my understanding that Negredo already belonged to Real Madrid way before they brought it all those other players. He was on loan to Almeria and was recalled by Real.

    (SBI- Real Madrid sold Negredo to Almeria last year, but had a buy-back clause, which it exercised to the tune of 5 million euros.)

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  23. THREAD HIJACK — Jozy tweets that he’s going to be in England tomorrow. Obviously lends more credence to the Hull, Everton, Fulham rumors.

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  24. That is literally an embarrasment of riches. What else would you expect for a team named after the antiquated institution of royalty. Blech.

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  25. I think it is awesome. I am going to sign up for the extended sports package so I can get goalTV and watch Barca and RM put on goal scoring exibitions every week. This is an American’s dream!

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  26. Ives, do you know if Conway will sign with Chivas USA given Thorton’s recent injury?

    Chivas USA only has a 3rd string keeper available and I’m not sure if Preki will want to risk playoff goals with an inexperienced keeper.

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  27. This is absurd, esp. when there’s a financial crisis gripping Spain and ordinary people can’t get the bank loans they NEED to ride it out.

    The mentality behind it is morally corrupt, to say nothing of the competitive imbalance it engenders in the game itself. Florentino Perez can go to hell.

    I hope it explodes in his face… just like last time.

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  28. Add them to the list of teams to hate: Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. I thought they would have learned their lesson from the previous galacticos.

    Xabi will be sad when LFC wins the Premier League, and Barcelona wins La Liga again this year.

    Reply

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