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Alexis Mac Allister has revealed how he was left “shocked” after Jurgen Klopp arranged a secret 'James Bond-style' meeting to seal his Liverpool transfer.
Mac Allister joined Brighton & Hove Albion in 2019 before being loaned back to his native Argentina in consecutive seasons. He began to establish himself more prominently at the Amex from the 2020/21 season onwards, becoming a crucial first-team player before the Qatar World Cup midway through the 2022/23 campaign propelled him into the spotlight.
The 26-year-old's displays drew attention from a number of clubs as he returned to English football as a World Cup champion. Shortly afterwards, Liverpool was linked with the former Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors starlet.
They ultimately secured his services in the summer of 2023, signing him for an initial £35 million ($47M), with the potential to reach £55M ($74M). Mac Allister has now opened up on how the transfer came about, with then-Reds manager Klopp making a noticeable effort by travelling halfway from Liverpool to Brighton in an attempt to sign him and revamp his ageing midfield.
Mac Allister explained in The Players’ Tribune recently: “At the end of that season, Jurgen Klopp came to see me. Actually, it was a bit of a James Bond situation. He flew down and we met in secret somewhere halfway to Brighton.
“I was a bit shocked that he did that for me. I had won a World Cup, but I was not a star at all. We had a coffee, and he explained to me that he really wanted me to come to Liverpool.
"I reminded him a bit of Ilkay Gundogan, who he developed at Dortmund into one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world. It’s so funny, because when I was young, my dad would always be screaming at me from the stands, ‘Ale, to the box! To the box!’
“Every time our team crossed the halfway line, ‘To the box! To the box!’ I don’t know, I suppose he saw in me the same thing that Jurgen saw, ‘Don’t be cute! Box to box!’”
He continued: “From that moment I spoke to Jurgen, I knew I was meant to come to Liverpool. It wasn't so much what he said, but what he conveyed as a person. It was a great conversation, and that was the beginning of a spectacular relationship.
“But everything takes time. The club had basically turned over the entire midfield. An iconic group that had won everything. When me, Dom [Dominik Szoboszlai], Ryan [Gravenberch] and [Wataru] Endo came in, it took us a minute to be comfortable playing our way, you know?
“That [previous] midfield was very heavy metal. We were different players. A bit less direct. We like to play. But when you have players like Mo [Salah] and Lucho [Luis Diaz] and Cody [Gakpo] up top, they want the ball yesterday. It took us some time to adapt.”
Mac Allister's debut season at Anfield saw him feature in 46 matches under the German manager, netting seven goals. That included scoring Liverpool's Goal of the Season during a nail-biting 4-3 victory over Fulham, although the Reds' campaign ended on a disappointing note as they missed out on the league title after winning the Carabao Cup.
It also turned out to be his only season under Klopp, as the Liverpool manager shocked the Reds by announcing he would depart at the end of the 2023/24 season. Mac Allister, however, took on an even more pivotal role in the following season under successor Arne Slot, making 49 appearances across all competitions and contributing a further seven goals to win the Premier League title.
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