Former Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has claimed Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker is ‘still angry’ with him because of his transfer
Comments
Sport
Mohamed Salah with Alisson Becker of Liverpool before the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield
Mohamed Salah with Alisson Becker of Liverpool before the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield
(Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Former Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has claimed Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker is ‘still angry’ with him because of his move to the Serie A giants back in 2016. Alisson agreed to join the Italian outfit in a €7.5m switch from Internacional in February that year before completing the move the following July.
However, the Brazilian found himself behind Wojciech Szczesny, who was then enjoying his second season on loan from Arsenal, in the pecking order during his first season at the Stadio Olimpico.
Article continues below
While Alisson made 15 appearances during his first season with Roma, he failed to make an appearance in Serie A with his outings instead spread across the Europa League, Coppa Italia and Champions League.
READ MORE: I think Liverpool should have sold Trent Alexander-Arnold - now another player could walk away for freeREAD MORE: Jordan Henderson was fined after walking out of Liverpool team meeting - 'He just left us'
Szczesny would go on to join Juventus in a permanent £10m deal in the summer of 2017, with Alisson then establishing himself as Roma’s first-choice following the Pole’s departure.
He too would then move on 12 months later, leaving for Liverpool in a then-record £65m switch after making 49 appearances in an eye-catching 2017/18 campaign.
But Sabatini has now claimed Alisson was not happy at not being first choice after joining Roma. “Alisson is still angry with me, he never understood,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “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.”
But it ultimately worked out for the best for all parties with Sabatini ensuring Roma made maximum profit when selling Alisson to Liverpool. The 32-year-old is now regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has won every major honour with the Reds.
Sabatini also played a crucial role in Mohamed Salah’s career, signing the Liverpool forward on loan from Chelsea for €5m in August 2015, before the switch was made permanent the following year for €15m.
After scoring 34 goals from 83 appearances for Roma, Salah joined Liverpool in a £43.9m deal in the summer of 2017 and has gone on to establish himself as one of their greatest ever players.
And Sabatini admits he was immediately impressed when meeting Salah in London before signing the Egyptian.
“I went to London three to four times,” he recalled. “I met him after 7pm for Ramadan, when he could drink. And I found myself in front of a real man, full of values, ready to sacrifice.”
It was at Roma where both Salah, and Alisson, played alongside the legendary Francesco Totti, who he considers as one of his biggest role models.
“Oh, the legend, yeah, Totti. One of my idols,” Salah told Optus Sport earlier this season. “I had the pleasure to play alongside him, is an incredible player, I didn’t play with him in his peak but you can see how much quality he has.
“I played with him, I think, [when Totti was] 37, 38 but his touch is incredible, the way he reads the game is incredible.
“As a human being also, was a very, very good guy so nobody will be a club’s king like Totti. Never saw someone in my life have that much control and love in the city or on the club like him.”
Meanwhile, former Roma fitness trainer Emanuele Marra revealed earlier this year how Salah would take a football into the shower with him at Roma in an effort to keep improving and learn from Totti.
"Two players that I had the pleasure of training, who are Totti and Salah,” Marra told Radio Serie A. “At the end of training I found them dribbling in the shower while they were taking a bath.
“That is, shower with the ball in and they were dribbling: this makes you understand the passion and love there is for what they do. Dribbling at that moment certainly didn't help improve their technique, but they did it simply because they love the ball."