Liverpool given IMMEDIATE Xabi Alonso boost over head coach job

Xabi Alonso is a free man - and inevitably linked to the job at Liverpool. The Reds have received an early boost in that regard.

Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso have parted company in a shock to start the week. A shock of sorts, anyway - there have long been rumours that the head coach was the wrong fit for the club.

But given Alonso only took over at Real Madrid in the summer - and did so after a year-long wait - you'd have thought he'd get a bit more time. Instead, it was decided that losing the Spanish Super Cup final was enough for him to get the chop.

Alonso is now a free man as a result and that will bring about talk of Liverpool. For one, he's admitted publicly that he's open to the job and he was widely reported as the first-choice before Arne Slot was hired.

To top it off, Alonso was Florian Wirtz's coach for the best form of his career. It all lines up for Liverpool to have their eyes on their former midfielder - even if the chances are slim that they move for him anytime soon.

Slot is still firmly in charge and has improved Liverpool's form from the disastrous worst-in-70-years period we saw a few months ago. The club are unlikely to do anything before the end of the season unless there's a turnaround in the wrong direction - but Alonso will be on their shortlist if they decide to change things.

At the top of it, in fact. So with that in mind, the Reds have received a boost.

Xabi Alonso's contract situation

When a manager (or head coach) leaves a club, it's not always easy to hire them immediately. They're owed the rest of their contract, after all, unless they take on another job.

For many, it's easier to just take time at home, earning the same money for doing nothing. But that's not the story here.

Cope claims that although Alonso signed a three-year contract with Real Madrid, there was a clause that meant he'd only be paid for the first year if he was sacked mid-season. It's a bizarre one, quite honestly, as it added extra incentive to the club to ditch him in the debut campaign.