Roma sporting director Monchi confirms “very advanced” talks with Liverpool for Alisson, who will leave for a world record fee.
The Brazilian goalkeeper has flown out to England for a medical, in a deal which is expected to be worth around €75m.
“We haven’t closed anything, the deal will be closed when everything is ready,” Monchi said at Justin Kluivert’s presentation Press conference.
Roma sporting director Monchi confirms “very advanced” talks with Liverpool for Alisson, who will leave for a world record fee.
The Brazilian goalkeeper has flown out to England for a medical, in a deal which is expected to be worth around €75m.
“We haven’t closed anything, the deal will be closed when everything is ready,” Monchi said at Justin Kluivert’s presentation Press conference.
“The lad is in Liverpool, it’s true, and it’s true that we’re in very advanced negotiations, but it’s not done. If everything goes normally it will be closed soon.
“I’ve explained it many times, the work of a sporting director isn’t just buying players, to plan, but also to understand what’s best for the club. The financial side also has to be considered.
“A very big, out of the market offer arrived. We evaluated the pros and cons and made the choice to speak to Liverpool.
“The ambition is the same, if not more, we’ve sold two important players in [Radja] Nainggolan and Alisson, we’ve signed 10 players before any others.
“We keep working to find players to become an important team, the ambition is to do things with the head.
“You can’t lose your head, I don’t want to do anything that will put Roma in difficulty.
“Let’s look at the recent example of an important club in this country that went bankrupt [Bari], the example of a very big club that cannot play in Europe [Milan].
“I came here to try and make the strongest team possible for many years, not just for a year.
“I’m 100 per cent convinced that before you reach the 10th floor, you have to climb all the stairs. Last year we sold [Mohamed] Salah, [Antonio] Rüdiger and [Leandro] Paredes and then we had our best season in the last 10 years.
“We need to have ambition, but with our heads screwed on. Alisson is very strong, if he’s not the best in the world then he’s certainly up there.
“But he’s had to go on a journey too, last year after [Wojciech] Szczesny [joined Juventus] it seemed like the end of the world, but we had a great goalkeeper who needed time.
“I know time doesn’t exist for fans, but sometimes it’s what you need.
"I have to thank Alisson, I never felt him pressurising me to leave, but if he's accepted then it's because he wants to go.
"If he'd come to me and told me that he didn't want to leave then an offer of €200m could have arrived…
"When reading about so many clubs, like Real Madrid or Chelsea, being interested in Alisson I could have done two things.
"I could have pretended there was nothing or moved on, or I could understand that something could happen and work to do the best for the club.
"People can say whatever false things they want, but anything I say or do is for the good of the club.
"In the last month I realised that something was going to happen, though it wasn't certain an agreement would be found.
"When a club which is so strong financially comes in though, you start to understand that something could happen."
Monchi was then asked if Robin Olsen will be the replacement.
“I’ll pretend not to hear that question… Robert Olsen is a possibility but not the only one: we work calmly, without haste.
“We have [Antonio] Mirante, Fusato and the primavera lads. It’s better to be certain and convinced, finding the best financial conditions for the club without doing something under pressure from the exit of Alisson.
“For me the strongest pressure to bear is mine, no-one puts more pressure on me than myself.”