Rio Ferdinand reveals why he’s ‘surprised’ Xabi Alonso has become Chelsea manager

Rio Ferdinand says he is ‘looking forward’ to seeing what Xabi Alonso can bring to Chelsea – but surprised’ the manager wasn’t ‘patient enough’ to hang on for a possible opportunity at Liverpool.

Chelsea brought weeks of speculation to an end on Sunday as it was confirmed that Alonso had put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

The 44-year-old Spaniard will fill the void left by Liam Rosenior, who was relived of his duties only 107 days into his reign in west London last month.

Calum McFarlane has been leading the Blues on an interim basis in the intervening weeks and Alonso will officially begin in his new role on July 1 in preparation for the 2026/27 campaign.

The former Liverpool midfielder has been out of a job since his dismissal at Real Madrid back in mid-January, with Bernabeu bosses deciding to pull the trigger after the side’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Barcelona.

But despite his disappointing seven-month spell in charge of Los Blancos, Alonso is regarded as one of the finest young coaches in the game on the back of his extraordinary success with Bayer Leverkusen.

Discussing the appointment on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel, the ex-Manchester United and England defender admitted he was a little taken aback that Alonso hadn’t ‘sat tight’ for a potential opening at Anfield.

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.

‘If he’d just sat tight, the way things are going at the moment, the way things are unfolding at Liverpool, surely he’s next in the queue to get that job.

‘But Chelsea have acted quickly, they’ve probably put something in front of him with some big numbers as well that has turned his head and he’s just thought, “I’m going to go for it!”.

‘Or he’s just thought, “Do you know what? 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.’

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.

‘What he did at Bayer Leverkusen, it can’t be sniffed at. 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.’

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.

It would chime with widespread reports last month claiming the Reds had decided to stick with the Dutchman, as long as they secured Champions League qualification – which would happen if Bournemouth lose to Manchester City on Tuesday night.

‘It did tell me that Liverpool are going to keep their manager for next season which I’m happy about,’ Neville said.

‘I genuinely think a manager that has won the league 12 months ago deserves an opportunity to get it right having had a more challenging season this time around. They’re still in the Champions League.

‘It’s for Liverpool to sort out their own problems, I don’t think they need Gary Neville telling them what to do, but it was a telling comment from Mohamed Salah and something that won’t be helpful.’

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