Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson says he will be forever thankful to Jurgen Klopp for offering him the chance to “become a legend” at Anfield and to continue chasing down major silverware.
A Brazil international is already a fan favourite on Merseyside, with his arrival in 2018 helping to put the Reds on a path which has led to the very top.
Eyebrows were raised when a £65 million ($80m) deal was put in place with Roma, but Alisson has repaid that show of faith by becoming a model of consistency for a Champions League and Premier League title-winning side.
Many consider his value to have soared across two productive seasons in England, with potential for the 27-year-old custodian to get even better.
Alisson intends to continue raising his game under the guidance of Klopp. Asked for his opinion of an enigmatic German coach, he told the Reds’ official website: “The maximum respect I can have for a person, I have for him.
“There’s not many words that I could describe, maybe in Portuguese I can do that better! But yeah, he means, I think, everything for this club, for the squad. He brought us together here, he gave me the opportunity to come to Liverpool, he makes me feel special inside.
“My team-mates make me feel special inside and the supporters also, everybody, but the boss has a special place in everything I think for everybody – for the club and also for the supporters because he gave his life to achieve those things that we are achieving.
“I will always respect him, have big respect for him, and also be thankful to him for bringing me here and giving me the opportunity to become a legend here for Liverpool.”
Klopp has guided Liverpool to domestic, continental and global crowns over the course of the last 12 months, with a 30-year wait for English top-flight title glory ended in style this season, but Alisson insists nobody at Anfield will be resting on their laurels.
He added on ambition for the future: “We did already something special for this club, but you can see from what every player says inside the dressing room that we want to do more.
“This is our desire, we want to win more, win more titles for this club, win more individual awards. We want to be the best team and to be the best we can, the best version of ourselves.
“The sky is the limit so we need to keep pushing, we look forward also for the next challenge. Now the next challenge is the next game, but in a long perspective we have the next season and we will do everything to win that again.”