Thiago: Liverpool have same hunger and spirit as Guardiola’s Barcelona
⮞midfielder
pledges future to club after Nou Camp rumours says Klopp and City rival have matching ‘charisma’
⮞spaniard
Thiago Alcantara has reaffirmed his commitment to Liverpool following reports that new Barcelona coach Xavi wants to tempt the midfielder back to the Nou Camp.
In the ultimate compliment to his current side, Thiago said his determination to win trophies at Anfield was fuelled by seeing similar traits in the Liverpool squad to those in the all-conquering Barca team he was part of under Pep Guardiola.
Thiago’s comments follow Paris St-germain’s Lionel Messi, his former Barcelona team-mate, identifying Liverpool as the team to beat in this year’s Champions League.
“Now, Liverpool are doing very well. They are again [looking like] the Liverpool that won the Champions League,” Messi told Spanish newspaper Marca.
In the same interview, Messi said he would return to the Nou Camp eventually. Xavi’s first significant act as manager was to sign a familiar face in Dani Alves, which led to suggestions in Spain that Thiago might be next to return.
However, the Liverpool player insisted he did not intend to break his ties with the club in the near future. “As I always have been, I am a guy who plays football. I am not concerned about the rumours,” Thiago said. “I’m focused on the duty I have with my team and the years I have in contract with my team. I just want to know about this new adventure that I have here in the Premier League and to try to win all the trophies I can. My commitment is with this team.
“One hundred per cent I made the right choice, the right move. I wanted to win and go away from my comfort area and try new things and a great, different football with the team-mates I have here.
“Football’s about learning. With my experience and knowledge in
football, I can be better by learning new things, so why not? In the end, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing I have in my mind. I want to be dominant in a game. Why not here with Jurgen [Klopp, the manager] and these team-mates?”
Thiago was part of the Barcelona squad who defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final – widely regarded as the most complete team performance in such a final – and was also pivotal in Bayern Munich’s 2020 win, and he says he feels a similar vibe at Liverpool.
“I have had the luck to play with brilliant players in brilliant teams,” he said. “We were dominant in both teams at Bayern and Barcelona, and it happened a little bit the same here
with Liverpool. I came here to a team that had already won a lot, but they aim to win more. I came into a mature team already walking the road, and also they want to make a longer path with this team. It is the same kind of hunger and competitive spirit as the teams I had before.”
Thiago is also among those players who has had the pleasure to play under the two greatest coaches of their generation – Guardiola and Klopp.
“They both have the same charisma and have the group in their hands,” Thiago said. “They know what to do to make them perform better and to help them in difficult situations. One has more possession and one has wildness with control, at the same point. It’s great, both are doing what they want in the greatest way football can bring.”
Klopp, meanwhile, said he would strike the “right balance” against Porto tonight. Liverpool are already through as group winners, but Klopp’s choices are limited due to injuries.
“We always respect the competition, but we have to think about ourselves and our schedule and the situation of our players first,” said Klopp, who will give late fitness tests to Jordan Henderson and Andrew Robertson.