Injuries did not allow Thiago Alcántara to show all his magic at Liverpool. The English club confirmed that he will leave at the end of this season, and many are now excited about the possibility of adding someone who was known to be one of the most technically skilled and talented midfielders during his golden era.
“Before he came to Liverpool, I thought if you really love football, it makes a lot of sense if you’ve seen Thiago Alcántara play. Technically, he is very good, a talent that can play in any team in the world, it has been a privilege to have him here,” said his coach Jürgen Klopp, who will also leave the team at the end of this campaign.
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The player arrived at the Reds in 2020 from Bayern Munich and was only able to play 98 matches, only one this season, due to injuries. Remembered for a great goal against Porto in the 2001 Champions League, voted the best goal of that edition, at 33 years old he still has time to regain the level he showed both in the German team and at FC Barcelona.
Son of Mazinho, champion with the Brazilian national team at the 1994 World Cup, his first steps in football were at Flamengo. There he played a few games in the youth categories when he was 12 years old, before moving to Spain to accompany his father and his professional career.
In January of this year, there were already rumors of strong interest from Mengão to repatriate him, and even trips by a director of the Carioca team to England to personally talk to the player and convince him to migrate to Rio de Janeiro were mentioned.
This was later denied by several sources, including transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. However, with the official announcement of his departure from Liverpool as a free agent, Flamengo could go on the offensive, with their sights set on the definition of the 2024 Copa Libertadores and the next 2025 Club World Cup, in which they are already qualified.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
