Loris Karius has opened up on how he only discovered Liverpool were signing Alisson Becker when he saw it in the news, with nobody at the club informing him beforehand
Connor O'Neill
13:53, 21 Jan 2026
Loris Karius
Loris Karius during his time with Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
Loris Karius has revealed he discovered Liverpool were signing Alisson Becker through media reports rather than being informed by the club. The goalkeeper arrived at Anfield from AS Roma in the 2018 summer transfer window.
Jurgen Klopp opted to pursue the Brazil international following persistent doubts about Karius's performances. Just months prior to Alisson's arrival, Karius had suffered a disastrous evening, committing two critical errors that helped Real Madrid secure a 3-1 Champions League final triumph.
The first blunder saw Madrid open the scoring when his ill-fated attempt to roll the ball to a teammate allowed Karim Benzema to intercept and score. The Reds goalkeeper then let Gareth Bale's long-distance strike slip through his grasp to put Real two goals clear once more.
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Karius never featured in another competitive match for Liverpool following that final, in which he was subsequently confirmed to have suffered concussion, and had temporary stints with Besiktas and Union Berlin before departing Anfield when his contract expired in summer 2022.
Speaking to the Independent about learning of Alisson's imminent arrival, Karius disclosed: "It took me a bit off guard. I just read it in the news. No one told me before that they were making the signing or spoke with me, but I guess that's football.", reports the Mirror.
"When I asked why no one was informing me, they said they cannot let 30 players know every time we sign a player in their position.
"There's no bad blood or anything. Alisson has done a fantastic job up to today, he's a great goalkeeper. But if they planned on this from the beginning, maybe someone could have like put me on notice a little earlier."
And whilst the shot-stopper has since managed to revive his career at FC Schalke 04, he acknowledges that following his departure from Liverpool when his contract ran out, he contemplated walking away from the game entirely. He said: "It was not the worst six months."
Loris Karius, Adrian, Harvey Davies and Caoimhin Kelleher during a Liverpool training session back in the summer of 2021
Loris Karius, Adrian, Harvey Davies and Caoimhin Kelleher during a Liverpool training session back in the summer of 2021(Image: (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
"I still enjoyed myself. I spent a lot of time with my family, I did a lot of travelling, a lot of things that normally you can't do when you're in your everyday routine."
Karius is battling for a Bundesliga comeback with Schalke, who dropped down a division in 2023. "It would mean a lot to everyone – not just to me – at this club that is supporting every day through really bad times and through good times," he said.
"To see all these people, the joy that they have right now watching us play is really special. I'm trying to give them as much as possible special moments in the second half of the season.
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"We'll see where it takes us, but ultimately that's a goal I have. It would be a really nice story."