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- Alonso spent five seasons on Merseyside as a player with the Reds from 2004
- How do you replace a giant like Jurgen Klopp? It’s the end of an era… Mo Salah will move on, will they lose Virgil van Djik, too? It’s All Kicking Off
Xabi Alonso has been ordered to demolish his villa in San Sebastian after it was declared illegal by a Spanish court.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss, who is the front runner to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, completed construction on the property in 2022 after receiving a license to build on the site four years prior.
However, according to reports in Spain, the 42-year-old may now have to tear down the villa located on the cliffs of Igeldo after it was ruled to not comply with environmental guidelines following complaints.
Environmental group Haritzalde, cultural group Ieltxo, as well as two neighbourhood groups, contested construction on the site and asked for it to be demolished.
They argued the building does not comply with the obligation to maintain the rural area’s typology and the reconstruction of the original structure that lay on the site.
The Bayer Leverkusen boss is the front runner to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield next season
The luxury villa is located in the area of Txalin in the San Sebastian neighborhood of Igeldo
Furthermore, they insisted that the initial building permit was illegal as the villa is located on agricultural land which cannot be developed on.
On the other hand, the advocates of the villa said that the building complies ‘with the spirit of protection of an area of high strategic value and geological interest, proposing a construction with a landscape sense that tries to adapt to the hillside condition of the plot’.
They also attempted to link the project with the reconstruction of a farmhouse that had been demolished in the area.
The decision rejected claims that the new building had anything to do with the reconstruction of the hamlet originally situated on the site. Additionally, the court ruled that it did not comply with ‘the obligation to maintain the rural typology’.
The court also said the building of a roof on the villa to be illegal. Alonso reportedly has the right to appeal the decision.
The lavish property has ore than 400 square metres of living space and no basement. However, San Sebastian City Council did grant permission to build a 1,145 square metre house with a basement before the ruling.
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