Gianluigi Buffon has made the huge claim that Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson will become an all-time great.
The Paris Saint-Germain number one delivered a gushing verdict on the Brazilian ahead of Wednesday’s mouthwatering Champions League showdown between the two clubs in France.
Buffon told told The Mirror: “Alisson is everything a modern goalkeeper needs to be. Liverpool have conceded very few goals this season – and he might be a new name for those in England but for me it is no surprise.
“I have been watching him for some years now and am a big admirer. He is comfortable with the ball, he is an excellent shot stopper and I see that he gives confidence to his defence.
“He is one of the top three goalkeepers in the world right now and has everything to go on and be a great of his position.”
OPINION
Wow. If Alisson needed any bigger confidence boost ahead of Wednesday’s match, it has come not from within the Liverpool camp but his immediate opponent. Certainly, Buffon’s views on goalkeepers are worth listening to. The Italian is one of the most brilliant-ever exponents of the art and will certainly go down as a world great. His comments about Alisson are intriguing, as the summer signing from Roma has gone relatively under the radar this season, partly because Liverpool don’t concede lorry loads of chances in matches. Bar one calamitous early-season back pass, Alisson’s distribution has been exceptional, which Buffon explains is now vital for any keeper seeking to be at the top of the tree in the modern game. His athleticism and total command of his penalty area has also stood out. The Italian knows Alisson’s game well after watching him in action for Roma for two seasons while he was breaking more records at Juventus.