Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has cemented his place as one of the world’s best goalkeepers of the past decade, perhaps even ever, during his time in Merseyside.
The Brazilian arrived from Roma under Jurgen Klopp in 2018, going on to win the Champions League, and multiple domestic cups and looks set to add another Premier League to his trophy cabinet this summer. He is still Liverpool’s third-most expensive signing ever.
Alongside Virgil van Dijk, Alisson is perhaps Liverpool’s most transformative buy during their transitional period, taking the club from top-four challengers to European champions with immediate effect. But before moving to Anfield, the star had a tricky relationship with a director in the Eternal City.
Roma director opens up on Liverpool star Alisson’s time in Italy
Alisson’s stint at Roma prior to his Liverpool move was, however, not as smooth sailing as perhaps expected, with cultural issues and an ongoing selection battle with senior stopper Wojciech Szczesny threatening to derail the Brazilian.
Having spent his first season in Rome as an understudy to the Polish stopper, Alisson, who ranked at No.7 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best Premier League goalkeepers of all time, once threatened to quit the club if assurances regarding his game time were not met, straining the relationship with the club before being promoted to first-choice the season after.
Roma’s director of football, Walter Sabatini, has since revealed that his relationship with Alisson was damaged during these years together and has never fully recovered.
“Alisson is still angry with me,” he told La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“He never understood. At the beginning, I protected him, he had to improve in positioning and reading the games.
“And then we have always burned all the Brazilian goalkeepers here. I preferred Szczesny for this and he didn’t accept it.”
The Brazilian proved his worth in his second season in Rome, helping the club to a Champions League semi-final – losing out to Liverpool of all teams – keeping 22 clean sheets in all competitions before securing his big-money move away.
A recent string of injuries have since seen Alisson lose some of the heroic reputation he once had at Anfield, now sharing duties with Irish stopper Caoimhin Kelleher, while the imminent arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili has thrown his future into further doubt.
