Journalist Fabrizio Romano has been speaking about Thiago and his future at Liverpool following claims about his future.
A claim from Portuguese journalist Pedro Almeida a few months ago claimed that Barcelona were showing an interest in bringing him back to the club, noting that ‘the player is very appreciated’ by Xavi, who had just been appointed as their manager at the time.
Thiago has made 44 appearances for Liverpool so far since his move from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020, and according to Romano, those numbers look set to increase in the coming years despite the rumours.
Speaking in an interview on the Anfield Watch YouTube channel, whilst noting that Barcelona do think he is an impressive player, Romano was quick to dismiss any idea that the La Liga side were in the advanced stages of taking him back to Camp Nou:
He said: “I’m told it’s fake news. It’s true that they appreciate the player, but I think if you ask every club in the world, they can’t say that Thiago is not a wonderful player, so it’s absolutely normal.
“They know him so well as he was [at] Barcelona. But they never called his agent, they never called Liverpool, they never had any contact with people close to Thiago, so in the last month, nothing happened. And so at the moment, there is absolutely nothing.”
TIF Thoughts on Fabrizio Romano’s comments about Thiago Alcantara and Liverpool…
Have you been impressed with Thiago since he signed for Liverpool?
No, he's not that good
Yes, he's a class player
Romano’s comments should come across as good news for Liverpool fans, because whilst Thiago hasn’t been a regular for Liverpool this season through a mixture of injuries and health issues, he has still been an important figure for the club when he has played.
He ranks in the top five for tackles with 1.6 per game, aerial duels won with 1.4 per game and long passes with 3.5, whilst also completing 86.3% of his passes (as per WhoScored), so the club can’t afford to be losing him right now, even if he is turning 31 in April.
His numbers could suggest that even if Thiago’s role gets reduced with age, he can still perform a role for Liverpool, so they shouldn’t be looking to get rid of him just yet – and the fact that Barcelona aren’t taking a serious interest in him should be seen as a good thing.
In other news: ‘He certainly ticks the boxes’ – Journalist drops encouraging claim on LFC target amid reports