Alisson Becker reveals why he chose Liverpool transfer despite Chelsea transfer interest
Speaking to Brazilian outlet UOL Sport (h/t Liverpool Echo) ahead of his national team’s first game in the FIFA World Cup, Alisson Becker reveals the main reason why he chose to come to Liverpool, with interest from Chelsea at that time.
Alisson joined Liverpool from Roma in 2018 in a deal said to be around £65million and instantly became a fan favourite. Kepa Arrizabalaga joined the Blues in the same summer, and it’s safe to say our signing proved to be a better investment.
However, his first memory of the Anfield atmosphere came while he was playing for Roma and they faced Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League semi-final which we won 5-2.
Alisson reveals that although the defeat was hard to take, it was while playing at Anfield and its infectious atmosphere that played a big part in the Brazilian deciding about his next move.
“I think that game [for Roma at Anfield] served as an experience of living a day at Anfield, seeing the crowd up close. That contributed to my choice for Liverpool.
If you ask me what it was like to play at Anfield as an opponent I can sum it up for you in one word: horrible. Anfield is a spectacular stadium, when the crowd plays together it’s very noisy — and in that game they were ‘on fire’.
I had a proposal from Chelsea too, but living that cheered me up a lot to play for Liverpool.”
The brilliant atmosphere of Anfield is something revered by many past legends of the game who have played for and against Liverpool.
Certainly, the reception that the keeper felt was big enough to help him decide to move to Liverpool and thankfully he did as a player of his calibre going to our direct rivals would have been a hard one to take.
Since his move, Alisson has impacted the team in more ways than one can imagine and does come as one of the better signings of the Jurgen Klopp era.
Even in a disappointing season for us so far, it has been Alisson who has saved our defence’s blushes numerous times and continues to show why he is regarded as one of the top keepers in Europe.
Alisson has allowed Liverpool to play with a high line and more often than not, is always present to help out his defence in case of a break of the defensive structure. He is certainly one of the most reliant players under Klopp and it would be wise to say that the manager also acknowledges the impact that the player has made on the team since his move.
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With his contract expiring in 2027 (Transfermarkt), we could only see the keeper taking on more responsibility as a seasoned veteran as time goes on and hopefully, we get to see more of the Brazilian’s outstanding ability for a few more years.
It would send shivers down the spine of Liverpool fans to imagine him in a Chelsea shirt…
