Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso could follow fellow Liverpool great Steven Gerrard to MLS when he contract expires at the end of this season, the Spanish World Cup winner told ESPNFC in an interview.
Alonso is currently in U.S. as the German champs prepare for the upcoming season by competing in the ongoing International Champions Cup. They'll meet Real Madrid on Wednesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN).
He's clearly happy in Munich; he extended his stay 12 months beyond the two-year pact he inked upon arriving from Real two summers ago. But he will turn 35 in November, and he admits he's not sure what the next step of his decorated career will be -- if there's a next step at all.
"At the moment I don't know what's going to happen in my future, what I will do next year, if I will continue," Alonso said. "For sure one option could be to come here to the States to live and to play in an MLS team. For sure I will consider it because you're still competing at a good level, you get to live and get to know a new country, have a new experience. We'll see."
Alonso has long embraced new experiences. As a teenager, he spent a year in rural Ireland as part of a student-exchange program.
He left hometown club Real Sociedad for Liverpool in 2004 at a time when few Spanish players moved to England, and is one of just seven Spaniards on a Bundesliga roster for the 2016-17 campaign.
Alonso has played several friendlies against MLS teams during the five years he spent with Madrid. He has heard good things about the league from former teammates Gerrard, now is in his second season with the LA Galaxy, as well as New York City FC duo Andoni Iraola and David Villa, whom he played alongside on Spain's all-conquering national squad.
"I know they are enjoying so far this experience," Alonso said. "They tell me it's tough, the competition level is good, physically all the teams are very well-prepared, and they are trying to make that effort to help it grow. It is growing."
It's not just Alonso's ex-teammates who play in MLS -- a few former foes do, too.
NYCFC's Frank Lampard once broke Alonso's ankle when Alonso was playing for Liverpool against Lampard's Chelsea.
And he'll be forever linked to Dutchman Nigel de Jong, who's famous kung-fu kick to Alonso's chest in the 2010 World Cup final remains among the most indelible moments in tournament history.
So would De Jong's or Lampard's presence in MLS make him think twice about joining the league?
"I have no problems with that," Alonso laughed. "I've met Frank a few times and he's a nice fellow. Those years with Liverpool against Chelsea were great years. We had such an amazing rivalry, competitive games, two top sides fighting for everything and we really enjoyed it."
Although he's played against De Jong since the 2010 incident, they've never spoken about the foul.
"If we hadn't won," he said, "Maybe it would've been different."
For now, Alonso is looking forward to his third season with Bayern, and before that Wednesday's game.
He considers the ICC the perfect test -- Bayern played Italian titans Inter and AC Milan after touching down in the U.S. last week -- for the more important games to come.
"We are just two weeks from the start of our first competitive game, the [German] Supercup versus Borussia Dortmund, so we know that we need to start getting ready," he said. "Whenever we train here in the states, the games that we are playing we are playing against good teams, so for sure we care about our time here."