Xabi Alonso heads for Real Madrid after Liverpool agree on £30m deal

Liverpool finally agreed a £30million fee to sell Xabi Alonso last night.

The midfielder will complete his move to Real Madrid today after undergoing a medical, and will sign a four-year contract thought to be worth more than £80,000 a week AFTER tax.

Manager Rafa Benitez had played hard-ball in negotiations with the Spanish club he represented as player and coach, demanding add-ons that could increase the deal by a further £5m.

And Anfield sources confirmed last night they had secured virtually all the £30m fee in an upfront payment, with the rest in the form of bonus -related payments. It will come as a huge relief for Alonso, who was withdrawn from Liverpool's trip to Norway late yesterday afternoon. They have a friendly game in Oslo this evening.

Alonso had trained with Liverpool in the morning and was reluctantly preparing to travel, as the prospect of the saga enduring even longer grew stronger.

But after more telephone talks yesterday following a meeting at the weekend between the clubs, new Anfield managing director Christian Purslow accepted a revised Madrid offer, after the Spanish giants capitulated and increased their initial bid of £27m.

Benitez knows Liverpool need the money.

Before the summer it was widely suggested he would get the money raised by the sale of Robbie Keane in January plus another £20m to spend this summer, giving him an effective kitty of around £38m, plus any revenue generated by sales.

The reality of Benitez's situation though, appears very different. He has spent £17m on Glen Johnson, and has said there will only be one, or possibly two more signings.

Given that one of those will be Alberto Aquilani, a direct replacement for Alonso, and the other is likely to be a cutprice defender following Sami Hyypia's departure, it means Benitez will be operating at a profit this summer.

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Which means that the £38m apparently promised has not materialised.