As Liverpool say hello to fantastic kids, they have to say goodbye to icon
Take a look at Thiago Alcantara’s statistics during his time at Liverpool and they are hardly sensational.
In 68 Premier League appearances, he has scored twice and assisted four times. In 19 Champions League games, he has one goal and has failed to register a single assist. The Spanish midfielder has not found the net in nine FA Cup matches and failed to do so in his one EFL Cup outing. And it is now more than likely those statistics will remain unaltered.
Last week, Jurgen Klopp glumly announced that he did not know when Thiago would be fit to return to competitive football. Klopp loves Thiago and this is what he once remarked: “After the game I said to Thiago … if I had known what a good player you are, I would have signed you four years earlier.”
The game in question was the 2022 FA Cup final, a goalless draw between Liverpool and Chelsea that ended with a 6-5 shootout win for Klopp’s men. Thiago had been excellent in the game and converted his spot-kick. In response to Klopp’s comment, Thiago apparently told his manager that he had ‘taught me running’.
Unfortunately, Thiago has not done much running for Liverpool since that moment, playing only 20 hours of Premier League football in the last two seasons. He has played only eight minutes of any sort of football since April 26, 2023.
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Jurgen Klopp once jokingly said that he would have signed Thiago four years earlier if he had known how good the Spanish midfielder was (Getty Images)Liverpool has a reputation as a compassionate club but the chances of Thiago being offered a new contract are slim and none. His current deal expires in the summer and he is reported to be the third best-paid player at the club, his £200,000-a-week wages only less than those earned by Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Thiago turns 33 in early April and if he can get himself fit, a move to Saudi would be an obvious late-career path. And the bottom line is that Liverpool have not had the best out of a supremely gifted midfielder.
His best came during seven years at Bayern Munich when he won seven Bundesliga titles - three of them under Pep Guardiola - before signing off with a Champions League win in 2020. Pep loves Thiago and before taking over in Munich in 2013, Guardiola famously told the Bayern board he be allowed to sign ‘Thiago or nothing’.
Pep Guardiola told Bayern Munich that Thiago had to be THE priority signing when he took over as manager of the German giants in 2013 (Bongarts/Getty Images)That tells you all that needs knowing about Thiago’s technical excellence, developed under Pep at Barcelona. But considering the amount of games he has missed since making his Premier League debut against Chelsea in September, 2020, it is hard not to wonder if the intensity of the English club game has taken its toll on such a world-class craftsman.
It is hard not to wonder if Thiago was never really cut out for Klopp’s heavy metal football (something the Liverpool manager has vigorously argued against on several occasions). Whatever the case, as Anfield’s excitement over its kids reaches fever pitch, it is a shame the great stadium might not see such a great player again.
One last hurrah would be nice.
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