Liverpool Transfer News: Xabi Alonso Revelation and Latest Thiago Maia Rumours

Liverpool icon Xabi Alonso has revealed he almost made the move to Barcelona instead of Real Madrid when he left Liverpool in 2009. Elsewhere, the Reds face increased competition for Santos starlet Thiago Maia.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais (h/t Jack Otway of the Daily Express), Alonso revealed then-Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola wanted him, except a certain emerging midfielder complicated the interest:

"

It happened not long before I left for Real Madrid. Liverpool told me that they wanted to sell me, Rafa Benitez too, and Pep showed an interest in my situation. He wanted to sign me because, as he told Rafa, I was the type of player who would fit his [playing] model. 

But he had doubts because Busquets had just come through and had the makings of a tremendous player. Guardiola chose him, and he wasn't proved wrong.

"

Barca have enjoyed some dominance over Europe and Spain in the years since that deal almost came to pass, but Alonso was a success at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning La Liga and La Decima during his time in Madrid.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan dissected Alonso's interview with El Pais further, where the midfield maestro opened up on the reasoning behind his falling out with former Reds manager Rafa Benitez:

The 35-year-old—now at Bayern Munich—is poised to end his career at the end of this season, and the past eight years could have turned out very differently for the veteran had he moved to the Camp Nou instead of joining Real.

Even at his age, however, Alonso continues to have an impact at the elite level and may come up against his old team in the second leg of Bayern's UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash with Real on Tuesday:

Meanwhile, Lille are said to be raising interest in Liverpool target Maia, who has been linked with a host of Europe's top clubs since rising to prominence with current club Santos.

According to French television programme Telefoot (h/t TalkSport), Lille have become the "latest club to register an interest in Maia," although French giants Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco are also among his suitors.

The central midfielder has made 54 appearances for Santos across all competitions and helped the club win last year's Campeonao Paulista, as well as being elected to the competition's 2016 Team of the Year.

In January, Brazilian Football Manager researcher Paulo Freitas reported that Russian heavyweights Zenit St. Petersburg made an approach to sign Maia before he rejected their advances:

The 20-year-old is yet to make his full international debut but did represent Brazil's under-23 side en route to winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in his native country.

His involvement in the national team's youth setup would undoubtedly aid Maia in securing a work permit if he did leave Santos for Europe this summer, although Lille may be able to offer more first-team guarantees than the Reds could.