Alisson claims Napoli made an ambitious bid to sign him before completing his £65m move to Liverpool… and reveals Reds scouted him as 20-year-old at Internacional
- Alisson reveals he was a transfer target for Napoli before he moved to Liverpool
- The Brazilian goalkeeper decided against a move to Naples last summer
- He also claims Reds had been tracking his development while at Internacional
Liverpool star Alisson has revealed that he was the top of Napoli’s transfer wishlist before he completed his £65million move to Anfield last summer.
The highly-rated Brazilian, who was playing for Roma at the time, insisted that a move within the Serie A would have caused him a lot of problems and instead chose to team up with Jurgen Klopp.
The move to Merseyside proved to be the correct one considering the 27-year-old won the Champions League in his first season while Napoli are in disarray due to the ongoing civil war at the San Paolo Stadium.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has admitted that Napoli made a bid for him last summer
The two clubs face each other in the Champions League on Wednesday evening and Alisson hasn’t looked back since leaving Italy.
‘Napoli tried to bid for me,’ Alisson told the Independent. ‘The president came to me, but if I went to Naples from Roma, I was going to put myself in a tough situation in Italy.
‘It’s not an official derby, but there’s a big rivalry between the teams. I admire Napoli a lot, they have a top squad and it’s always hard to play against them, especially when they are at home.
‘But I was committed to joining Liverpool.’
Alisson went on to win the Champions League at Liverpool after deciding against Napoli move
Alisson (R) also revealed that his current employers were tracking his progress as early as 2013
Alisson has also revealed that his current employers were tracking his progress as early as 2013.
The club’s goalkeeping coach John Achterberg had been assessing Alisson as a 20-year-old but work permit issues scuppered a move before Roma snapped him up in 2016.
‘Someone told me in 2013 that there was from a coach from Liverpool looking at me, but I didn’t really believe him,’ Alisson adds. ‘Now it’s hard to take in all that has happened and to know there is still so much still to come here.’