Alisson Becker Faces Saudi Pro League Interest as Liverpool's Resolve is Tested

Liverpool thought they had slammed the door on Alisson Becker’s suitors this summer. Juventus came first, Luciano Spalletti pushing hard for a reunion with the Brazilian he trusted at Roma in 2016/17. The response from Anfield was firm: no.

Sporting director Richard Hughes quietly triggered a one-year option in Alisson’s contract, extending his deal to 2027 and, in theory, cooling the noise around one of the club’s most important players. The message was clear. Liverpool’s No 1 was going nowhere.

Now that certainty is being dragged back into question.

Saudi Pro League clubs circle

In Saudi Arabia, prominent journalist Mohamed Bukairy claims Alisson is close to joining Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League. His report on X paints a picture of a serious move, not just another speculative link.

“Al-Ittihad Club's management is close to signing Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker, the guardian of Liverpool's den and the Samba national team,” he wrote, describing a proposal that would make the 33-year-old one of the best-paid goalkeepers on the planet.

Bukairy reports that Al-Ittihad, dubbed the “Dean of Saudi Clubs”, have tabled a “tempting offer” worth more than €11 million a year. That figure is significant when set against Alisson’s current deal on Merseyside, believed to be around £150,000 per week. The Saudi package, at roughly £179,000 per week before tax, edges that in gross terms.

Then comes the real lure: Saudi tax rules. For a player in the latter stages of his prime, it is the kind of financial upgrade that forces even the most settled professional to pause and think.

Al-Ittihad are not alone either. According to the same report, newly promoted Al-Diriyah are also in the hunt, trying to “snag Alisson's gloves” and crash the party with an audacious bid of their own. One of the most decorated goalkeepers in the European game suddenly finds himself at the centre of a Saudi tug-of-war.

Liverpool’s dilemma

For all the noise, one obstacle remains immovable: Liverpool must agree. Without the club’s consent, Alisson stays.

That is where this story becomes more than just numbers on a contract. Liverpool have already watched leadership drain from the dressing room this summer. Andy Robertson has gone. Mohamed Salah has gone. Ibrahima Konaté has gone. Each departure has stripped away experience, personality, and authority.

To lose Alisson on top of that? It would not just be another transfer. It would rip out a cornerstone.

There is also the football reality. Giorgi Mamardashvili covered plenty of minutes last season when injuries sidelined Alisson, and those absences have become a concern. The Brazilian has missed far too many games for Liverpool’s liking in recent campaigns, a reminder that even elite goalkeepers are not immune to the grind.

Yet when he plays, he transforms Liverpool’s back line. He still makes saves few others even attempt. He still radiates calm in chaos. Replacing that, at short notice, in a summer already marked by upheaval, would be a brutal task.

Saudi money can solve a lot of problems for selling clubs. It rarely replaces a leader in the dressing room or a world-class presence between the posts.

Liverpool have already drawn one line in the sand this window. The question now is whether a richer, tax-friendly offer from Saudi Arabia is enough to make them redraw it around their No 1 — or whether Alisson Becker remains the man they choose to build the next era around.