Marcos Alonso wants to set the record straight about the moment when his Chelsea career appeared to be over.
It is September 26, 2020, and the Spaniard has endured a horror 45 minutes at The Hawthorns, with West Brom leading 3-0 at half-time.
He does not make it out onto the pitch after the break — hauled off by manager Frank Lampard — and by the time Chelsea return to the dressing room, having salvaged a 3-3 draw, he is already on the team coach.
Alonso does not play another competitive minute under Lampard — and had the latter not been sacked the following January, it is unlikely he ever would.
The Spaniard’s action was considered an act of disrespect, a line crossed from which there was no coming back. The 31-year-old, however, insists it was simply a misunderstanding.
“It wasn’t like this,” he insists, sitting in the sun in Abu Dhabi’s Ritz Carlton, where Chelsea are based ahead of tomorrow’s Club World Cup Final against Brazilian side Palmeiras. “I watched the game upstairs and, with five minutes to go, they [West Brom’s security] told me I cannot be here, so I went downstairs to the changing room. Then, when the referee blows the whistle, I went to the coach before the team got back.
“It was not with any bad intention that I wanted to leave, but I had a shower at half-time already. I was not happy, of course, with how the game went and everything, but it was not any intention to do that. I spoke to my team-mates straight after [to see] if someone felt offended, but everyone was okay.
“The manager didn’t take it well, but I explained everything that happened. He thought I left before the end of the game, but I told him, ‘no’. There were some medical staff in the changing room who can provide the right information.”
Even at his lowest ebb, Alonso insists he was never going to walk away, despite ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte’s desire to take him to Inter Milan. “I signed a long contract here,” he adds. “Chelsea is the most important club in my career. I want to give back all the trust they put in me. That’s my only target.
“There will be good moments, there will be bad moments. There will be managers coming in and out. My contract is with Chelsea and I serve the club.
“I have always had interest from other clubs but, to be honest, it was never my intention to leave. I wanted to fight for my position. I know what I can give to the team and until the club tell me something else, then that will always be my target.”
Alonso has been revitalised by Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, at various points keeping £50million signing Ben Chilwell out of the team. He will be a key figure for the rest of the season, with Chilwell ruled out with knee ligament damage.
His decision to stay has been rewarded. He was part of the squad that won the Champions League last May and tomorrow can add the Club World Cup to his list of honours.
Should Chelsea win the Carabao Cup at the end of the month, it will represent a full set of major trophies for Alonso at the club and a remarkable turnaround from 2020. “It’s important to have a manager that trusts you and plays you,” he adds. “If you don’t play, it’s difficult. You can do well in training, but no one sees that if you don’t play games.
“You always have to prove yourself if you want to play for a club like Chelsea. You have to have this in mind. If you relax a little bit, then things will not be good, so you always have to give 100 per cent to stay at the top.
“You see a lot of players with great quality who play well for a couple of years and then they don’t have it anymore, despite the quality they have.”
Alonso’s focus now is on a second piece of silverware this season — after winning the European Super Cup back in August — and the title of champions of the world.
“In every footballer’s career there are good moments and bad moments, but you need to have this fire inside you to always try to get better,” he says. “To win the Champions League, fight for World Cup trophies is enough motivation to keep pushing and pushing to get to these moments.
“It will mean a lot to get to February with the chance to win two trophies already. It’s a trophy the club has never won. To be the first will be great as well.”
