After weeks in which there has been little real contact between the clubs, the Spaniard is seeking to force Madrid's hand: they must now make an acceptable offer close to his £30m valuation or back off. Alvaro Arbeloa, meanwhile, says he is hopeful of joining Real Madrid "in the next few days".
Alonso flew into Madrid last night en route to San Sebastián in northern Spain after Benítez gave the squad three days off following their pre-season tour of the far east. The squad comes together again on Thursday before travelling to Barcelona to face Espanyol on Sunday and, with the Premier league season just two weeks away, Benítez has told the midfielder that he wants a definitive answer.
Alonso informed Benítez of his desire to leave at the start of the summer but his future now lies in the hands of Madrid: if they do not make a bid that convinces the Liverpool manager, Alonso may be forced to stay. Benítez wants sufficient time to buy a replacement and negotiations with Roma's 25-year-old midfielder Alberto Aquilani are ongoing. Real Madrid are in less of a hurry, however. The Spanish season does not begin until the last weekend of August.
Madrid's opening bid for Alonso, thought to be in the region of €27m (£24m) was rejected by Liverpool who have let it be known that they value the player at closer to €40m (£36m), even though they were willing to sell Alonso for around half that amount last summer. Madrid's technical staff remain extremely keen to bring the midfielder in and pre-season friendlies have once again laid bare that there is a need for a ball-playing central midfielder.
Publicly Madrid have continued to insist that they will not match Benítez's valuation and have hinted at a willingness to walk away. The club's president, Florentino Pérez, described the fee as "detached from reality". There has been little real contact between the clubs for the majority of the summer. All three parties - Liverpool, Madrid and Alonso - have known exactly where they stood but remained distanced by price and have been reluctant to shift their positions. Benítez is now trying to flush Madrid out once and for all by presenting them and Alonso with an ultimatum.
The stalemate over Alonso has also effected the Liverpool full-back Alvaro Arbeloa, because the clubs would prefer him to be part of the same deal. Arbeloa though is confident that his future will be resolved before the weekend and admitted that he and Alonso both want to join the Spanish club - only to hurriedly add: "I am speaking for myself, not Xabi."
"It is true that it's close [to being done]; let's see what happens in the next few days," Arbeloa said. "It seems that everything's going well and that it is close. It might even be wrapped up this week. Everyone knows how things work in football and things always take longer than you'd hope. There are 20 days left until the season starts in England and [Liverpool] would like to have the squad finalised as soon as possible. Let's see if things can be resolved. If everything gets agreed, then no one wants to join Real Madrid more than me. But if we have to wait, we'll wait.
"Let's see if things can be moved forward - for me and for Xabi Alonso. Xabi is my room-mate and we have spoken to Rafa about everything. He knows what the situation is and has told us what he thinks. Madrid's project is very exciting and I think every player would like to be part of it. There is little that we [Arbeloa and Alonso] can do because it is the clubs and the agents that are handling things. It is true that we have a great opportunity … I'm speaking for myself I can't speak for Xabi."
Arbeloa defended Benítez, who has been subject to fierce criticism in the Spanish press for not backing down over Alonso, insisting that he "completely understands" the Liverpool manager's stance. "There are no good guys and bad guys. Sometimes the press wants to make someone out to be the baddie but it's not like that. Everyone looks out for their own interests and Rafa is defending the interests of Liverpool, just as we are defending our interests and Madrid are defending theirs."