Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has revealed he turned down a lucrative offer to move to a club in the Saudi Pro League this summer.
The Brazil international, 31, says he declined the offer due to his and his family’s affection for Liverpool.
Alisson, whose Liverpool contract runs until 2026, told The Guardian: “I want to honour my contract and finish my contract here or make a new one. I am really happy here. My family is happy.
“I never got to the point where I was talking about wages. It was just interest, but when you hear about the numbers the other players are getting (in Saudi Arabia) you are a little bit attracted. That is normal.
“At the end of the day, you play football for love, it is the thing you like to do, but it is our profession and we want to use the years that we have to make the most of it. I am open to that, but now is not the time. I am really focused on the things we have here at Liverpool and while I still have my contract here, I will be focused here.
“If it is in the interest of the club to negotiate, then it will be a different conversation.”
Alisson joined Liverpool from Roma in the summer of 2018 and has established himself as one of the club’s most important players during his six seasons at Anfield.
He has made 264 appearances, keeping 115 clean sheets, and won seven trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League.
The Athletic previously reported that Liverpool are closing in on a deal to sign goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia.
A fee in the region of €40million (£34m) has been discussed between the two clubs with the 23-year-old expected to remain at Valencia for the 2024-25 campaign as part of the deal. Liverpool’s second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher remains at the club and has two years left on his contract.
Liverpool’s position has always been that they want Mamardashvili to arrive in 2025, with Alisson’s status as first-choice goalkeeper not under threat.
“We are not going to last forever here, I am getting old,” Alisson said. “No, for a goalkeeper I am still young, I have a lot of energy and I still have much to give for this club and I want to give to the club as much as I can. But they have to prepare for the future.
“They have and they will do for different positions as well. We have so many important players with the contract expiring and the club needs to organise themselves.”
Liverpool face Brentford in their second Premier League game of the season on Sunday.
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