REVEALED: Liverpool Rejected Chance to Sign Future Record Breaker Alisson in 2015 for £4m
Alisson became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when he joined Liverpool from Roma for a fee of around £67m. However, Liverpool could have saved themselves a lot of money if they had listened to a scouting report from 2015.
The Mirror have revealed that Liverpool were one of several Premier League and Championship clubs who, in 2015, were offered Alisson, a relatively unknown goalkeeper with Brazilian side Internacional at the time.
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Alisson's agent, Ze Maria Neis, worked with a group of UK-based intermediaries who compiled an incredibly detailed dossier of Alisson's abilities and potential. This dossier was then distributed to many clubs in the Premier League and Championship, informing the clubs that Alisson was available in a £4m deal - £3.1m up front with £900,000 in add-ons.
Brazilian World Cup winner Claudio Taffarel also added a written testimony to the dossier, in which he emphasised that Alisson was the most promising goalkeeper from South America.
Alisson explained to his agent that England was his preferred destination, but no club were prepared to make a move for the goalkeeper at that time. Even the fact that his German ancestry made him eligible for a European passport was not enough to persuade the English clubs.
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After failing to secure a move to England, Alisson snubbed a move to Major League Soccer and instead waited for his big break in Brazil. Serie A side Roma swooped to sign Alisson for £6.7m in 2016, after the goalkeeper had made his debut for the Brazilian national team.
He was initially an understudy to former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny but, after the Polish shot stopper left the club, Alisson emerged as one of the most talented goalkeepers in Europe.
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He was instrumental in helping his side to the Champions League semi finals, where he came up against future employers Liverpool. Roma were beaten 7-6 on aggregate by Liverpool, but Alisson had already impressed enough to earn a huge transfer.
