Liverpool had to see off competition from Real Madrid and Chelsea to successfully capture Alisson Becker this summer as the goalkeeper was interested in joining both of those high-profile sides, according to UOL Sports.
The Brazilian sports website shared that the goalkeeper had a deal in place with Real Madrid having agreed to the wages they were offering ahead of the World Cup but that the Spanish side were only willing to pay AS Roma £35.5million for his services.
UOL Sports report that while Chelsea were interested in Alisson, the Brazilian goalkeeper was eventually put off by their uncertain situation regarding their manager and due to the fact they aren’t set to be in the Champions League in the 2018/19 campaign.
It is believed that Blues owner Roman Abramovich also declined to invest heavily in buying a new goalkeeper despite the uncertain future of Thibaut Courtois.
UOL Sports’ report goes on to state that Liverpool’s willingness to splash the cash on Alisson and the fact that they looked like a stable club to join due to Jurgen Klopp’s presence allowed the Reds to bypass the Blues and Madrid on their way to signing the keeper.
OPINION
It seems Klopp also played a further part in helping welcome Alisson to club as he opted to facetime the Brazilian while the Reds were still trying to negotiate a deal for him. This personal touch no doubt worked wonders as the shot-stopper was no doubt very aware at that the point that the Merseyside giants really wanted his services. While the Reds may have shelled out a staggering £65million, as stated by the Telegraph, to get Alisson it seems likely that it will end up being money well spent. The 25-year-old Brazilian shone in his 2017/18 campaign for AS Roma and shows no signs of slowing down now that he is at a new club. The position of goalkeeper has regularly been seen as the weakest area of the Reds’ team in recent seasons but following Alisson’s arrival that should no longer be the case. It’ll be interested to see who Chelsea end up with between the sticks if Courtois departs as it seems that could have recruited Alisson if they had stumped up the cash and assured the shot-stopper they were a stable club to join.
