Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has paid tribute to former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher.

Carragher will retire after today's game against QPR.

"What can be said about Carra?" he told LFC TV's new 'Carragher' documentary.

"As soon as I got to Liverpool, just as we met, I knew that he was someone special because of the way he felt the club - he was pure Liverpool, not just the club, the city.

"I always say he is probably the best Scouser in the world, because he's a great example of what the club is and what the city is. You see the passion that he's got for the club and the game as well.

"He's a great friend of mine and during my five years we were really close and we are still very close.

"You could see that he was a tough guy; he was very direct, he was a leader on the pitch. When we started playing you could see that he was an example on the pitch.

"He was very intense, shouting to everyone and asking for many things, but he was the first one to deliver. That's what you want from a leader - the way he behaves and the way he plays, and the passion that he plays with, he wants that from his teammates.

"As a teammate he was really funny; he loved the banter, he loved joking and he has the special Scouse humour. It was great. Not just him, his father and his brother have the same profile.

"He was a leader because he was always thinking about the club - not just the team, the institution. He had a very big picture about what had to be done for the club."