…I’m gonna cry. I’ve been dreading it all summer, but having known it was coming doesn’t make it any easier. I never stopped hoping it wouldn’t happen, and now, Liverpool FC have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for Xabi Alonso. I just… Now. With, what, three weeks left of the transfer window to find a replacement. We were so close to getting the league title last season, and Alonso was a huge part of why that was possible. Will they be able to mount a serious challenge again this season without him? I don’t know. Honestly? I don’t think so.

And Real Madrid. Of all the clubs, he joins them.

So long, Xabi. If it had been any other club I might have cheered a little bit for you the next time I saw you play, but not now.

‘Scuse me while I go off and cry.