Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso wishes he had the opportunity to play under Jurgen Klopp while he was still playing football.

The Spaniard famously won the Champions League in 2005 with Liverpool and went on to play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, collecting numerous trophies.

However, watching Klopp work his magic on this current Liverpool side, Alonso regrets that he never got the chance to play under the German.

“I have played so many times against him, I would have loved to have been coached by him,” Alonso told Nico Rosberg’s Beyond Victory series.

“But I am really happy he’s in Liverpool, [he is a] top, top manager and he seems really passionate, because he gets really close to the players, but [is] as well a good thinker of the game.”

On their chances of pipping Manchester City to the Premier League title, Alonso added: “I really, really want [Liverpool to win the title] because we have been chasing it for so long, so long.

“I know how much it means for the club, for their supporters, [after] so long without winning it.”

Liverpool moved into the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night with a comprehensive 6-1 win on aggregate over Porto.

The Reds will face Barcelona in the semis and Alonso cannot wait to watch the matches.

Asked if they can win the Champions League, Alonso added: “Yes, they can. Because they reached the final last year so now they know how it feels to be there. But we will see.

“It’s going to be a great, great semi-final to watch and [I’m] really looking forward to it.”