With Xabi Alonso all set to ride off into the Bavarian sunset at the end of the current season, the great and the good of the footballing world have been queuing up to pay homage to the veteran Spanish midfielder.
The 35-year-old announced his retirement in March with a suitably stylish monochrome tweet…
Lived it. Loved it.
Farewell beautiful game. pic.twitter.com/1aSN7GGNzZ
— Xabi Alonso (@XabiAlonso) March 9, 2017
And so, with just one game left to play this campaign, Bayern’s in-house TV channel conducted a special farewell interview with Alonso that featured a series of video messages from his friends and former colleagues, ranging from Pep Guardiola to Rafael Nadal.
Steven Gerrard also took the opportunity to wish his old Liverpool mucker a happy retirement, delivering a rather emotional speech in which, among other memories, he recalled the moment Alonso “broke his heart” by leaving Anfield for Real Madrid…
Gerrard leaves beautiful message to Xabi Alonso upon Spaniard’s retirement ❤️
‘When you left, it broke my heart’ 😥
🎥 FC Bayern TV pic.twitter.com/zSiqKmotOH
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) May 19, 2017
Aww. The love is strong. The love is real.
My hero. My mate. pic.twitter.com/qFmO53EQvl
— Xabi Alonso (@XabiAlonso) January 2, 2015
Adorable.