English Angle: Ten Things Rafa Benitez Should Do Before Selling Xabi Alonso

Liverpool fans, it's time to be honest – Xabi Alonso is all but on his way to Real Madrid. You didn't want it to happen, he (initially) didn't want it to happen, and perhaps even Rafael Benitez didn't want it to happen, despite his previous attempts to sell off his fellow Spaniard.

Considering that the boy from the Basque Country has just come off a season in which he displayed the sort of composure, consistency and class that even Steven Gerrard never could in a central playmaking role, it would be sheer madness to even consider selling him.