Xabi Alonso: I am a mature fruit, and I have dropped from the tree

Rightly lauded as one of his generation's finest ball players, Xabi Alonso has given a philosophical take on his retirement from football, aged 35.

Referring to himself as a 'mature fruit', the Spaniard's career has spanned Real Sociedad's Estadio Anoeta, Champions League glory with Liverpool and Real Madrid, World Cup honours as part of his nation's greatest side, and finally domestic domination at Bayern Munich.

"I have negotiated with myself, dealt with the process, and I am feeling it is right," Alonso told New York Times. "After the vacation, when the Bundesliga starts, LaLiga starts, the Premier League starts, and I am here on the sofa, on the other side, that is the moment when I will realize, when I will find out if I am fine here, or I would love to be there.

"I read that leaving is like buying and selling stocks. It is either too early or too late. In football, it is similar. It is hard to find the right moment, but I feel in peace.

Xabi's emotional goodbye"I am a mature fruit, and I have dropped from the tree.

"I don't think I will stop learning about football. There are certain parts we will never understand, like what happens in the brain of a player, or makes a team fear. We do not understand the mental part so well. I don't have an answer."

The future of football is overshadowed by the effect of social media and technology, in Alonso's eyes, but he's optimistic that innovation will keep the game moving forward.

"Many players are losing their focus of what the real job is," he added.

"On it, many of the coaches he has worked with and learned from - Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti - are thinking, and trying to bring new things to the game."

"It's hard to have new ideas, but they are coming."