Contract Expiry: 30.06.2027 (signed 04.08.2021)
Player Profile
Liverpool smashed a world record for a goalkeeper that had stood for seventeen years when they announced the signing of Alisson on 19 July 2018. The £65million fee was around double what Juventus had paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001. His former coach at Roma, Roberto Negrisolo, thought Liverpool still had a bargain.
He told newspaper Il Romanista after being asked about the hefty price tag "Lets not joke around. He's worth much more. I don't think many people have realised who Alisson is. This guy is a phenomenon. He is the number one of No.1s. He is the Messi of goalkeepers, because he has the same mentality as Messi. He is a goalkeeper who can define an era. The way he behaves in goal, he reminds me of Dino Zoff.
I'd also compare him to Michel Preud'homme, who had the class of someone born to be a goalkeeper. I told Alisson when I met him at Roma's Trigoria ground that he was born for this. He was already strong when he arrived but has improved even more since he's been in Italy." This was high praise, indeed, but Alisson won't probably mind this ringing endorsement. Alisson comes from a family of goalkeepers.
His older brother, Muriel who is five years his senior, played 75 league matches for Internacional, that was also Alisson's first professional club. Their father, Jose, also dabbled in goal and their mother, Magali, was a handball keeper. Even their great-grandfather played in goal!
Born in Novo Hamburgo in 1992, Alisson joined Roma from Internacional in 2016 and was second choice for his first season, appearing only in cup games. However, he was number one for 2017-18 and also became first-choice for Brazil in the World Cup.
He put in some stunning performances in Serie A and the Champions League, where Roma were eventually beaten by Liverpool in the semi-finals. The experience of the Anfield atmosphere was a factor in Alisson choosing the Reds, with Chelsea also having been in the hunt.
The huge fee paid for Allison was justified time and time again throughout the 2018/19 season. There were a few wobbles, including a comical loss of possession at Leicester that led to the Reds clinging on at the end. However, they were countered by several outstanding saves at key moments, such as in the closing stages of the decisive group stage game against Napoli when an equaliser would almost certainly have eliminated the Reds from the competition.
Alisson's commanding presence gave confidence to the defence in front of him and he ended the campaign with the Premier League Golden Gloves for keeping 21 clean sheets as well as a Champions League winners medal. Alisson was named UEFA's Goalkeeper of the Year for his performance in the Champions League en route to victory in Madrid.
The 2019/20 season hardly got off to a great start as Alisson suffered a calf injury on the opening day of the Premier League season when the Reds beat Norwich on 9 August 2019. The Brazilian was out for two months and missed Liverpool's European Super Cup win against Chelsea while Adrian was an able deputy. Alisson was injured again in March and was absent as Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid but while football was suspended due to the Coronavirus,
Alisson got fit again and featured as Liverpool secured the league title. "We did already something special for this club, but you can see from what every player says inside the dressing room that we want to do more," Ali said at the conclusion of this historic campaign. "This is our desire, we want to win more, win more titles for this club, win more individual awards. We want to be the best team and to be the best we can, the best version of ourselves."
2020/21 was a difficult season all around, with Liverpool's title defence collapsing. Alisson saved his first penalty for the club in a 2-0 win at Chelsea in the second league game. He had brief spells on the sidelines with two separate injuries to the shoulder and hip. He suffered personal tragedy with the death of his father in a swimming accident and was unable to return home for the funeral due to Covid regulations.
The season though ended in dramatic fashion, as he went up for an injury time corner away to West Bromwich Albion and headed a winning goal for the Reds. They qualified for the Champions League and after competing with Brazil in the Copa America, Alisson signed a new five year deal on his return to Liverpool.
Relive One Of Our Favourite Alisson Moments In The Video Below
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