Nantes midfielder Chirivella: Xabi comparison hurt Liverpool career chances | OneFootball

Nantes midfielder Pedro Chirivella feels comparisons with Xabi Alonso at Liverpool hurt him.

Chirivella moved to Liverpool from Valencia as a teen before eventually leaving for France and Nantes.

He recalled to AS, "When you are 15 years old and they tell you you're the new Xabi Alonso you take it well, but when I went to Liverpool and started playing with the first team I stopped liking it so much.

"I was a Spanish midfielder who played for Liverpool and my best virtue is passing the ball. Like him. Everything I did was already Xabi Alonso. I remember a pre-season game against Helsinki in Finland. I played 10 minutes and I played well. No more. Social networks were like the reincarnation of Xabi. They are things that weigh. Youngsters are destined to be compared to legends."

Chirivella won the French Cup with Nantes this season.

He added: "No, I still don't believe it. I think we are not yet aware of what we have done. It had been many years since Nantes had won a title and we have achieved it. We have entered the history of the club and that is what we still have to assimilate."