Roma’s coach Eusebio Di Francesco expressed his wish for a Champions League reunion with new Liverpool keeper Alisson. The Brazil stopper joined Liverpool for a world record £67million on Thursday, and his former boss made clear his desire for revenge.
‘Alisson? We hope to meet him in the Champions League and beat him, like I told him today when he came to say goodbye,’ Eusebio Di Francesco said according to Football Italia after Roma’s 1-1 friendly draw with Avellino.
Liverpool almost doubled the world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper in order to sign Alisson from Roma, but Jurgen Klopp knows better than most that a good shot-stopper can be priceless. Perhaps more fittingly, Klopp knows better than most that a bad one can be just as costly. Indeed, had it not been for the apparent incompetence of Loris Karius on a fateful night in Kiev, Liverpool could well be going into this new season as European champions.
Since that Champions League final loss to Real Madrid, it has been widely assumed that Karius’s two mistakes had a telling contribution on Liverpool’s eventual decision to make a £67.5m move for a world-class replacement. The fee is almost double the previous record for a keeper, the £35m paid by Manchester City for Alisson’s international team-mate Ederson last summer. Alisson starred in Roma’s run to the Champions League semi-finals last year, where they crashed out 7-6 on aggregate to the Anfield side.
He admitted the first leg, which Liverpool won 5-2, played a large part in his decision to make the record-breaking move. After signing, the Brazil international told the Liverpool website: ‘That game definitely did have an influence but I also watched other games. I’ve seen other games where I could see the way Klopp had the team playing. That has made me really excited to be part of this group. Apart from the fact that the club is massive, the players that have come through here and the titles won, hopefully I can play a part in the history being created here, win titles and be a part of the project that has been developed here in the past few years so we can see Liverpool rise once again.’
Francesco Totti believes Roma simply could not turn down the £65million offer from Liverpool for goalkeeper Alisson. The Brazilian has become the most expensive shot-stopper on the planet after completing his move to Merseyside, signing a six-year deal at Anfield.
It is the second summer in a row that Jurgen Klopp has raided the Serie A club for one of its top performers, after landing Mohamed Salah in 2017, but club director Totti insists the financial benefits of this deal can help the club move forward.
‘We’re building a young team for the future,’ Totti told Sky Sport Italia. ‘We’ll try to strengthen as soon as possible, so that Roma can compete at the top. Alisson? The market figures have changed, £65m for a goalkeeper happened for the first time and we couldn’t say no. I’m sorry that we’ve lost one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but we’ll try to build a strong team regardless.’
Roma are working hard to reinvest their money this summer with no fewer than 12 arrivals at the Stadio Olimpico.
Javier Pastore has signed from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee believed to be around £22m, while they have also completed a deal for promising Dutch forward Justin Kluivert, son of former Newcastle and Barcelona star Patrick, from Ajax.