BARRY IN, XABI OUT

All right, he may well be a European champion – but Rafa Benitez will also be remembered as the guy who once tried to exchange Xabi Alonso for Gareth Barry. The reason? Englishness. “With the new rules that were coming in, we needed more English players so we were trying to be prepared,” Benitez later revealed to “Alonso was not playing at the same level as he one was.” A miffed Alonso knew he wasn’t wanted, so left for Real Madrid in 2009 and won the Champions League five years later. “Rafa’s pursuit of Barry took some time for me to accept,” he admitted.