Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has said he and his team-mates "want to win everything" ahead of a busy period that could see them end the season with an unprecedented quadruple.
The Reds have already won the EFL Cup and are a point behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race as well as still participating in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Liverpool will have 13 more games left to play between now and the end of May should they reach the finals of both those competitions, but Alisson is confident the team can deal with the hectic schedule.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica, a tie in which they lead 3-1, the Brazilian stopper was asked about the physical demands of being in so many competitions.
"At this level we need to be prepared for that and we are," he said. "We have great fitness staff, we are training every day for that. We have targets, all the finals, all the games, as many games as is possible for us in the season.
"We want to win everything, so we are ready for that. Of course, it's not easy, sometimes we feel tired, but you need to put in your mind that you have energy enough to deal with every challenge."
Alisson has played 41 games for Liverpool in all competitions this season, keeping 22 clean sheets, and paid tribute to the players in front of him.
"It's massive [having a strong defence as a goalkeeper]. I have top players playing in front of me. No matter who is playing, they are always performing to the highest level possible, so I am really happy to be part of this team," he added.
The former Roma goalkeeper acknowledged the strength of Benfica ahead of Wednesday's second leg at Anfield.
"It was a tough game," Alisson admitted. "They have quick strikers, they have a strong striker as a number nine [Darwin Nunez]. I know Everton as well from Brazil, I know his qualities, how good he is.
"They gave us a lot of work to do, but we are ready to face them, we are ready and prepared to face that match to achieve our goals."
Alexis Mac Allister believes he can add to trophy collection with Liverpool
New Liverpool signing Alexis Mac Allister admits playing his part in Argentina’s World Cup victory gave him a taste for more trophies and he believes he will be able to fulfil that aim at Anfield.
The 24-year-old’s arrival on a five-year contract signals the start of manager Jurgen Klopp’s much-vaunted midfield rebuild which will likely see further additions made this summer.
A fee has not been disclosed but it is understood the Argentina international had a favourable release clause, which is reported to be as low as an initial £35million, inserted into the Brighton contract he only signed in October to avoid him leaving on a free at the end of the season.
“Since I won the World Cup, I said that I want to win more trophies,” the midfielder told LFCTV.
“I think this club will help me to do that. That’s the aim, and when you are at a big club like this one, you have to win trophies. That’s what I want.
“It doesn’t matter which one. Of course, every player wants to win the Champions League and the Premier League, but I will do my best to help the team and try to win every trophy.”
Mac Allister was on Liverpool’s radar prior to his move to the Seagulls in 2019 but the club felt his development was still in its early stages, although his versatility to play in several positions was a key factor in their interest.
He became as a priority target ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, in which he played a significant part in Argentina’s victory, and Liverpool were keen to secure his services to avoid a bidding war having pulled out of the race to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Real Madrid-bound midfielder Jude Bellingham when he became too expensive.
Mac Allister said he was looking forward to working with one of the best managers in the world and Klopp was equally fulsome in his praise of the player.
“We are adding a very talented, very smart, very technically skilled boy to our squad and this is super news, really it is,” Klopp said.
“It is clear he is someone who can play in a number of positions in the midfield and is an all-rounder. He is calm and composed and someone with proper game intelligence.
“I’m really happy his next steps will now be with us and we get to work with a player who is already excellent and experienced, but also has so much more to come given he is just 24 years old.
“There is no pressure on him. He is still so young, so it is obvious he will only improve and our job is to help him take the next steps.”
Mac Allister’s age and his career appearances (160) fit in with the demographics of some of the club’s most successful signings like Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Roberto Firmino and he represents the start of an overhaul of a midfield which lost James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of their contracts this season.
The groundwork on the deal has been going on for some time as the club have a long-standing relationship with the player’s agent Juan Gemelli dating back to Philippe Coutinho’s transfer from Inter Milan in 2013.
Departing sporting director Julian Ward pushed the deal to completion but has now handed over transfer business to his replacement Jorg Schmadtke.
Liverpool have also been linked with Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, Nice’s Khephren Thuram, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and will be looking to get the majority of their business done early in time for the start of pre-season on July 8.
Mac Allister’s departure may not be the last from Brighton with Moises Caicedo, a target for Arsenal in January, attracting more interest but the Seagulls’ Argentina international left with the club’s best wishes.
“We are incredibly proud of Alexis and we are sad to see him go,” said chairman Tony Bloom.
“He did something very special, becoming the first Brighton and Hove Albion player to win the World Cup, and was a key player in our best-ever season.”
Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after Europa Conference League success
West Ham chairman David Sullivan has confirmed captain Declan Rice will be allowed to leave this summer and he expects to start receiving bids immediately.
The England midfielder said he did not know if he had played his last game for the club after leading them to Europa Conference League glory.
A 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in Wednesday night’s final saw him become only the third Hammers skipper to lift a major trophy, following Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds.
However, Sullivan admits a gentleman’s agreement means they will allow a player who still has two years remaining on his contract – one year plus an option – to leave.
Asked whether lifting the trophy in Prague was Rice’s last action as a West Ham player, Sullivan told talkSPORT: “I think it has to be. We promised him he could go.
“He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.
“I think the offers will start to come today. Three or four clubs have shown interest but, out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”
Rice said after the game that it was “not goodbye yet”.
He added on BT Sport: “Look at the moment there’s a lot of speculation about my future.
“There is interest from other clubs, that’s out there, but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham.
“There hasn’t been nothing yet (offers). Let’s wait and see, who knows.
“I love every minute of it here, you can see the smile on my face.
“It’s not about that tonight, it’s about celebrating and that’s what I’m going to do now.”
Women’s World Cup win would earn England’s players more than £200,000 each
England’s players will earn more than £200,000 each if they win this summer’s Women’s World Cup.
FIFA has set out how a record prize money pot will be distributed for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, with 270,000 US dollars (around £216,000) earmarked for each member of the winning squad.
Every player involved in the tournament is guaranteed to receive at least 30,000 US dollars (just over £24,000), at a time when the average salary in the women’s game worldwide is 14,000 US dollars, according to last year’s FIFA benchmarking report.
World players’ union FIFPRO has praised FIFA “for listening to the voice of players” on the issue of pay, and for ensuring equal conditions in terms of training facilities and transport for players at this summer’s finals compared to the men’s tournament in Qatar late last year.
A group of 150 players from 25 national teams – including players from England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – had written to FIFA in October last year calling for equal conditions and for a guarantee that at least 30 per cent of prize money would be allocated to players.
Previously, there was no requirement for national associations to distribute a minimum amount of World Cup prize money to participating players.
The overall performance-based fund for the finals is 110million US dollars (£88.1m), more than three times what was on offer at the 2019 World Cup in France, with the players sharing more than 44 per cent of that between them.
“The confirmation of equal conditions and guaranteed per-player performance compensation at next month’s World Cup represents not only the outcome of tremendous global collective action by over 150 national team players, under the umbrella of FIFPRO and its member unions, but a constructive negotiation with FIFA over the past months,” FIFPRO said in a statement.
“They have listened to the voice of the players, and we have taken steps towards greater gender equity in our game at its highest levels. The legacy of this action is by the players, for the players, of both today and tomorrow.”
FIFA is working to make the women’s game self-sustaining, and is understood to be bearing more of the load on prize money compared to sponsors and broadcasters for this year’s tournament than it would like to in the future.
Its president Gianni Infantino has set a target for equal prize money at the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups but insists broadcasters in particular must do more to make this possible.
Broadcast deals in some key markets – including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – are still not agreed. Last month Infantino described some of the offers FIFA had received as “a slap in the face” for the women’s game.
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