During his playing career, he joined Liverpool at the behest of manager Rafa Benitez. Xabi Alonso, Steven. Along with Gerrard and others, he reigned supreme in midfield and developed into a world-class midfielder.
He went on to play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, before retiring to pursue a coaching career with Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.
In October 2022, without any first team experience, he was appointed coach of Bayer Leverkusen.
He revived a young team and made a name for himself as a promising young manager, winning the Bundesliga unbeaten and reaching the Europa League final last season.
This summer he was linked with moves to Liverpool and Bayern Munich, but stayed at Leverkusen. The former Spanish midfielder, who is likely to take over at Real Madrid next year, spoke about his feelings ahead of the match at Anfield, both as an opponent and as an alumnus of the club.
“I’ve seen a lot of different things Klopp implemented here but I have followed Slot too, I know his approach but it is combined with the intensity here at Liverpool, they have a nice mixture and that is why they are top of Premier League and Champions League.”
“In all areas they are really strong, so the process works really well. The manager has done a fantastic job in three months. Gakpo, Diaz, Tsimikas, Robertson, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; they have so many options. We have our plan and we will see what happens tomorrow for 90 minutes, we want to be competitive. We’ll see.”
“It feels great to be back after a few years to be back here. It’s always special. You notice the development of the club, the new stands look pretty amazing.”
“For sure tomorrow is a big game against Liverpool in a great moment, it cannot get much better than that and we are looking forward to it. Let’s see, I am not thinking that much [how I will be received]. I am more thinking about how to prepare the game.”
“Let’s talk about the game tomorrow, it’s more interesting than my future. Let’s talk about the great players on both sides, that is what is in my head. For us it is a big challenge to come here.”
“Liverpool at the moment is one of the best if not the best in Europe, they are showing that in a very strong Premier League and the Champions League. It’s a good squad, good coach. At Anfield, it’s a big challenge. We’re looking forward to it, let’s see what happens.”