10 greatest Spanish players of all time

#3 Xabi Alonso

One of the best defensive midfielders to ever play the game, Xabi Alonso has been successful wherever he has played, be it in the Premier League with Liverpool, or the La Liga with Real Madrid or the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich or the Spanish national team.

A complete, consistent, hardworking and versatile midfielder, Alonso is capable of contributing both defensively and offensively. Although primarily a defensive midfielder, Xabi Alonso has scored plenty of crucial goals for the La Roja from free-kicks and penalties.

His importance to the Spanish national team can be seen by Vicente Del Bosque’s comments when the Bayern Munich midfielder announced his retirement from international football in 2014:

“It’s very difficult to surpass what he’s achieved. He leaves us with a fantastic legacy, along with his other team-mates. He has been a great professional. The coaching team and I have the highest esteem for Xabi. I can only say that his comportment with us all this time, has been impeccable.”