Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has rubbished the talks of a return to Barcelona which have popped up in the transfer rumour mills in the past week.
Portuguese journalist Pedro Almeida, via Twitter, claimed that the Spaniard, who grew up in Barcelona’s La Masia academy and played 68 games for the first team from 2009 to 2013, is open to joining his former midfield partner Xavi Hernandes at Barcelona.
https://twitter.com/pedrogva6/status/1459308705003053056?cxt=HHwWgIC9taLiwMAoAAAA
The 30-year-old has come out to dismiss the rumours, stating that he is ‘100% happy’ at Liverpool and his choice to move to Anfield.
His time at Liverpool has not been the best of his career, however, as he has struggled for game time and fitness in Anfield. He transferred from Bayern Munich injured and contracted COVID-19 shortly after his arrival, before suffering another long-term injury on his full debut.
This season, however, Thiago has shown why Liverpool signed him. The Spaniard’s creativity has been lauded across the football world while at Bayern, but with his below-average start to life at Liverpool, he was on the verge of becoming just another midfielder.
This season, Thiago is only second to Konstantinos Tsimikas and Trent Alexander-Arnold in chance creation at Liverpool, with an 88.4% pass accuracy, also one of the highest in the team this season. He still is battling fitness issues which have limited him to only eight appearances in all competitions so far.
Football injuries are a pity, Thiago says
Thiago spoke at the press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League game against Porto. He was asked if his injury struggles at Liverpool have made him doubt the move to the Merseyside outfit.
“One hundred per cent I made the right choice, the right move,” he responded. “The injuries stop the frequency to play and to know how the team performs on the pitch.
“You can watch football and all the time it’s awesome but putting it into practice is even better. It’s a pity football has [injuries] but it’s part of football, part of life. When we are fit we have to put in as high performances as we can.
“I think the first year was very interrupted because of the COVID situation, injury. I had a quick adaptation. We struggled last season, for many reasons.
“This year, you know much better your teammates, the runs that they make, the way they prefer to receive the ball, the way they defend, how they attack. To me, the most important thing is to try to win in the way we want to win.”
Jurgen Klopp likens Thiago to ‘world-class golfer’
Thiago Alcantara’s first year Liverpool anniversary was in September of 2021, and Jurgen Klopp had only glowing comments about the serial winner.
Before his move to Anfield, Thiago had won seven Bundesliga titles, three LaLiga titles, and three Champions League medals. He was a key figure in most of these title wins and has been touted to be the best midfielder in the world on several occasions.
Klopp likened Thiago to a golfer when he spoke about the midfielder’s role in the team. “He is such a natural footballer; it is not like we have to give him 15 or 16 different things to do in the game. I don’t ask him for constant runs beyond the last line.
“He is a playmaker, obviously, who can sometimes be a little deeper, but he must be there in the two ‘interesting’ lines of the opponent as well.
“He has great vision and can change things with his passing. In a closed area with his passing, he is really good, and he can chip balls into each area like a golfer, actually. A good golfer. A world-class golfer! He does that without even thinking.”