Xabi Alonso names former Liverpool ‘soldier’ as the most underrated teammate of his career

Xabi Alonso played with some of the best footballers of the 21st century during a glittering career which took in spells at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as well as a golden period with the Spanish national team.

At Anfield, his midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano was about as well balanced as they come, while having Fernando Torres in front of him regularly got the best out of both players.

While Gerrard and Torres are often hailed as two of the best players of their respective generations, though, the same credit does not tend to be given to Mascherano, who also went on to star for Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona team.