As goalkeeper Alisson Becker was undergoing a medical ahead of his transfer to Liverpool, Roma’s sporting director Monchi has explained why he decided to sell the Brazilian international.
Speaking at the press conference to unveil Roma’s newest signing, Justin Kluivert, Monchi was asked if he sold Alisson to Liverpool because the offer was too good to reject. He replied:
First of all I want to say that nothing is finalised yet. Alisson is in Liverpool and we’re at a very advanced stage, but the deal is not done yet. If everything goes smoothly, it will be finalised soon. The job of a sporting director is not just to make signings but also to understand what’s best for the club at any given time. Economic factors are important for the club too, not just sporting factors. The offer was way above the market average – it was very significant. We weighed up the pros and cons and decided to speak to Liverpool in order to come to an agreement. Does it show a lack of ambition? Not for me. Our ambition remains unchanged. We’ve sold two important players, Radja [Nainggolan] and Alisson, but we’ve signed ten players very early in the window. We continue to work hard to find players and build a great team. “What is ambition? For me, it’s about using your head – without that, everything gets out of control. I don’t want to do anything to cause this club problems. There are recent examples of clubs in this country that have come unstuck – some of the big Italian teams that have historically played an important role that are barred from playing in Europe or have squad limitations due to UEFA rulings. I came here to try to build the strongest team possible, not just for one year but for many years to come. I’m 100% convinced I can do that, but before you get to the tenth floor you have to climb all the other floors. Last year people were saying the same thing about [Mohamad] Salah, [Toni] Rudiger and [Leandro] Paredes, but then we had our best season in ten years, finished third and got to the Champions League semi-finals. It’s nice to talk about ambitions, but you need to use your head. Alisson is a top player, perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world. Last year people were saying that the departure of [Wojciech] Szczesny was the end of the world. Alisson had to complete a journey too. I know fans can be impatient, but at times clubs just need time.
Monchi was also asked if Alisson pushed for a move and if he thought he’d be able to keep hold of the 25-year-old when the window first opened.
He said:
I only have words of thanks for Alisson – I never felt pressured by him to let him go. If he accepted the Liverpool offer, it’s because he was happy with it. He’s behaved flawlessly with me. As a sporting director, you need to try and understand what’s going to happen as quickly as possible. When you start hearing rumours about Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool you can either pretend that nothing’s going on and plough on as normal, or you can accept that something could happen and work to find the best solution for the club. I’ve said that Roma isn’t a supermarket and that if Alisson leaves I’ll play in goal myself. You might think that I talk no sense, but I do what’s best for Roma. Sometimes I have to do things people don’t understand, but I always do them for the good of the club. When clubs in strong economic positions come in, you have to realise that something could happen.
Quotes via ASRoma.com
Comments.
Loading comments…