LOOK AWAY NOW JURGEN... YOU COULD HAVE HAD ALISSON FOR £4
World record keeper’s Anfield snub 3 years ago
LIVERPOOL
The Brazil international moved to Anfield from Roma on Friday for a fee that more than doubled the previous world transfer record for a keeper.
But Sunday Mirror Sport understands the Reds could have captured the 25-yearold in July, 2015, for a bargain price after being offered a deal which would have seen them pay just £3.1m up front with £900,000 in add-ons.
Uk-based intermediaries working on behalf of the player’s agent, Ze Maria Neis, were asked to secure a move to England that summer when he was with Brazilian club Internacional.
Liverpool were one of several Premier League and Championship clubs who were sent a detailed scouting dossier outlining Alisson’s potential.
The prospectus also included a written testimonial from Brazil’s World Cup-winning keeper Claudio Taffarel hailing Alisson as the best young keeper to come out of South America.
Alisson, who had represented Brazil at Under17 and Under-23 level, was just three months away from making his full international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Venezuela.
With his reputation on the rise, Internacional were ready to sanction a sale if their asking price was met.
Alisson told his advisers that England was his preferred destination. But there were no takers – despite assurances that the player’s German ancestry made him eligible for a European Union passport.
The revelation that the decision not to take a punt on Alisson three years ago has cost Liverpool a staggering £63m will shock the club’s American owners.
John W Henry, the principal owner of Fenway Sports Group, is a big proponent of ‘Moneyball’ – a scouting system used in baseball to identify talent cheaply.
Liverpool have struggled to find a consistent No.1 since Pepe Reina (below) left Anfield in 2014.
Simon Mignolet arrived from Sunderland in a £9m deal in 2013 but has spent the last two seasons competing for a place with German Loris Karius.
In May, Karius made two huge errors as Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
And although the club later confirmed that the 25-year-old had suffered concussion earlier in the game after clashing with Real defender Sergio Ramos, they decided to spend whatever was required to land Alisson from Roma.
After being snubbed by English clubs in the summer of 2015, Alisson was forced to wait another 12 months before moving to Europe after a plan to take him to the MLS in the United States was ditched.
Roma eventually signed the Brazilian for £6.7m.
And after spending a season as understudy to former Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, his big breakthrough came last year when the Italian club reached the Champions League semi-finals – before losing 7-6 on aggregate to Liverpool.