£6.8m star thought he was a ‘phenomenon’ at Liverpool – then he ‘never played’ at Anfield

Follow us on Google Discover

Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto has admitted that he thought he was a ‘phenomenon’ at Liverpool but came crashing back down to earth.

Luis Alberto has reflected on his time at Liverpool having failed to make an impact at Anfield.

Every club has those players who fail to make an impact but go on to shine elsewhere.

The same goes for Liverpool with playmaker Luis Alberto standing out as a player who has been much better away from Merseyside…

Luis Alberto reflects on Liverpool career

Liverpool pounced to sign Alberto from Sevilla back in the summer of 2013.

The Spaniard had shown quality in the Sevilla ranks and impressed on loan at Barcelona’s B team.

Liverpool paid around £6.8million to sign Alberto but he made just 12 first-team appearances for the club, registering one assist and no goals.

Loans to Malaga and Deportivo La Coruna didn’t push Alberto any closer to the first team and Liverpool cashed in during the summer of 2016.

Liverpool sold Alberto to Lazio for £6million and he has now admitted that he had his mentality all wrong at Anfield.

As quoted by La Lazio Siamo Noi, Alberto claims that he thought he was a ‘phenomenon’ when he joined Liverpool.

However, Alberto came back down to earth because he ‘never played’ for the Reds, realising that he thought too highly of himself.

Alberto feels that young players need to have dedicated training on the mental side of the game, believing he lacked that side of the game when he joined Liverpool.

“That can be trained, I think it’s one of the most important things to do from an early age,” said Alberto. “I believe that clubs should put two or three people to work immediately on the mental aspect with the little ones. At twenty I thought I was a phenomenon but I wasn’t, I never played at Liverpool,” he added.

Alberto has matured with age and has even captained Lazio in five Serie A game this season.

The 31-year-old has racked up 50 goals and 71 assists in 279 games for Lazio, becoming a hero in the Italian capital.

The Liverpool move didn’t work for Alberto but it seemingly aided his mental approach and made him into the player he is today – one of Serie A’s best.