Soccer
Alexis Mac Allister ‘very sad’ not to be offered new Liverpool deal
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister admits he could have left in the summer as he was “sad” the club had not offered him a new contract when other players were having deals renewed.
Fellow midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch both had their stays extended, but Mac Allister said his agent was told the club was “not in a position” to offer him one.
Admittedly, the Argentina international had not had his best season, with doubts expressed about whether he still had the legs for the Premier League, but that could have been said about the majority of Arne Slot’s title winners who put up a dismal defence.
Mac Allister was linked with a summer move, including to Wednesday’s Champions League opponents Atletico Madrid, but he still has two years remaining on his current deal and wanted to stay as he believes the team can still be successful.
“There were options to leave this summer,” he said.
“I think as everyone knows I received the news that the club was not in a position to offer me a new contract, which of course makes me very, very sad.
“I think I give 100 per cent for this football club every single day in training, games. Of course I can have very good games, bad games, like everyone, but I always give my best.
“I see Dominik and Ryan renewing their contracts and that makes me very happy because they deserve it, but at the same time it makes me a little bit sad I didn’t get mine.
“Of course, there is still time, the fans don’t need to worry because I will give 100 per cent until the last day I am here. We will see what happens.
“But I think right now I am in the right club and I have the right mindset to give my 100 per cent to the club.”
Performances last season arguably did not warrant a new contract for a player who turns 28 in December, but he was not the only under-achiever as the team lost 12 Premier League matches.
His remaining term aligns him with new head coach Andoni Iraola, who insisted on signing only a two-year contract, and Mac Allister has started the season better.
“Maybe it is going to depend on how I perform during these years and they are right to make the decision,” he added.
“I don’t think I have to prove something, but I have to show the level I can perform.
“I’ve not had any conversations with him about it (the contract), but when I see the way he wants us to play I think this can be a successful year. This is why this is the right club and the right moment to be here.
“I want to win trophies. We have the right players and right mentality to go and do great things but everyone had to be on the same page.”
Mac Allister said last season had been “uncomfortable” as he played through pain.
“I don’t think that was part of the why, at the same time of course I take responsibility because it was not a good season for me individually and for us as a team,” he said.
