‘I came from my hometown team, to the best team in England; to the best team in Spain; to the best team in Germany. It’s a beautiful career’ — Xabi Alonso, November 22, 2014.
And this summer that 'beautiful career', which has taken him from Real Sociedad to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will be over. So far, there have been 16 major honours — including the World Cup and two Champions Leagues — and he collected 114 caps for Spain.
Every word of praise that has come Xabi's way since he confirmed his intention to retire on Thursday has been deserved.