One Liverpool stalwart has revealed that he turned down a lucrative offer from the Saudi Pro League at the end of last season, instead reaffirming his commitment to the Reds.
Alisson Becker made the declaration in an interview with The Telegraph, proclaiming that while he may be ‘open’ to playing in the Middle East at some point in his career, ‘now is not the time’ to do so.
The 31-year-old – whose current deal at Anfield runs to June 2027 – said: “I have a contract and I want to honour my contract and finish my contract here or make a new one. I am really happy here. My family is happy.
“I never got to the point where I was talking about wages and things like this [with Saudi Arabia]. It was just interest, but when you hear about the numbers the other players are getting, you are a little bit attracted. That is normal.”
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Alisson continued: “I will not leave now and I never thought about that. When the interest from Saudi came, I cannot close the door on a big deal, but my decision was always to stay and focus on the things we can achieve, this new beginning and this new start, and I am really excited about that.”
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The lure of the Saudi Pro League proved too difficult for two other Brazilians who once played at Liverpool in Fabinho and Bobby Firmino, but thankfully Alisson decided against joining his compatriots in the Middle East for now.
It seems from his comments above that he was somewhat tempted by the money on offer, but a man of his principles put his family and his career first by remaining faithful to the Reds for at least three more seasons, including this one.
His 35th birthday will be firmly in view by the time his current contract ends, at which stage he’ll have had nine years at Anfield, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he were to consider taking in one or two final challenges elsewhere at that point.
The good news for Liverpool is that they’re already beginning to look towards life after Alisson by pursuing Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who’s almost eight years to the day younger than the Brazil number one.
The Georgian would duly represent a long-term successor to our current first-choice stopper, who’s made it clear that he’s not yet ready to bid farwell to Merseyside – music to the ears of Reds fans who remain in awe of his world-class brilliance.
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