Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso says he felt he needed to leave the club after they won the Champions League last year.
The now Bayern Munich man played a key role in helping Los Blancos get to the final but missed the showpiece event itself through suspension. Real ended their 12-year wait for La Decima by beating Atletico de Madrid 4-1 on a glorious night in Lisbon last May.
Alonso, who had a contract with Madrid until 2016, left the club later last summer following the arrival of Toni Kroos.
And speaking to the FIFA website, Alonso said winning the Champions League was the end of a cycle for him and he wanted to test himself elsewhere.
“After beating Atletico in the Champions League final, it seemed as though the time had come to do something different again. We had managed to win La Decima, Madrid’s long-awaited 10th European Cup, and I thought it was right to try something new with one of the world’s best teams and in one of Europe’s top leagues. I was grateful to Real Madrid for letting me go even though I had a contract that was due to run until 2016,” he stated.
Alonso could become just the second man after Clarence Seedorf to win the Champions League three times with three different clubs (he won it with Liverpool in 2005) but says he is just taking each game as it comes.
“Winning the Champions League with Bayern would be fantastic but my priority is to continue doing my job on a weekly basis and contribute to the collective success of the team in whatever way I can.”
