Thiago Alcantara admits he has been waiting a “long time” for his move to Liverpool.
The 29-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Anfield after completing an initial £20million transfer – of which just £5m will be paid up front – from Bayern Munich, where he was in the final year of his contract.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has long been an admirer of the Spain international, who leapt at the chance to move to Liverpool.
Thiago adds an aesthetic dimension to the Liverpool machine
“I think it’s an amazing feeling,” he told liverpoolfc.com. “I was waiting for this moment for a long time and I am very, very happy to be here.
“When the years are passing, you are trying to win as much as you can – and when you win, you want to win more.
“I think this club describes what I am as well; I want to achieve all of the goals, win as many trophies as possible.
“It also (has) this kind of family (feeling) that I need because we (like to) have a very close relationship with the club and I think I will feel this, I will have this feeling, with this club as well.
“(The fans) are not more excited than I am, for sure not.
“It is not about saying words, it is about doing the things. I will give my heart on the field to my team-mates, the club and also to the fans.”
Klopp spoke with glee at finally acquiring Thiago, before apparently setting his sights on Diogo Jota of Wolves.
“I’m really happy that it finally worked out and we could just do it,” he said. “It’s very exceptional because in our situation, a lot of people around us talk constantly – ‘What are you doing?’ – bam, bam, bam
“Then preparing something like this, working on all different things you have to work in a transfer like this – with thinking about a player like him already is a joy, to be honest, because it gives us obviously some options.
“Then you get in contact with the boy and then you realise, OK, he obviously likes this project as well pretty much, even before he is here, which was really nice. I learned more and more about him as a person; the player I knew before, the person I learned.
“So I’m really happy to bring this wonderful person in as an add-on to the squad, which is just good for football reasons – but for all the other reasons as well. So, yeah, absolutely happy that he’s here.”
