Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister spoke to ‘ESPN’ in Los Angeles ahead of the Albiceleste’s friendly against Costa Rica and spoke about Messi’s absence and Klopp’s departure at the end of the season. The Liverpool player said they want to “gift” the Premier League title to the German manager.
Alexis Mac Allister is one of the stars of Liverpool and also of the Argentina national team. The midfielder, at the Los Angeles training hotel ahead of the friendly against Costa Rica, spoke to ‘ESPN’ and addressed a number of topical issues regarding the national team and his club.
The player openly admitted that he is sad about Klopp’s departure at the end of the season and assured that he and his team-mates want to give him a present: “We want to gift him the Premier League. It’s the biggest goal. We are aware that for the fans it is the most important goal we have, it’s going to be a nice race with Arsenal and City. We are focused on ourselves and we know that, if we do things right, we have a chance of winning it”.
“Klopp looked very confident with his decision. You can see that he thought about it a lot and that it is personal. It’s a shame for me because it’s my first year with him, he was the person who brought me to Liverpool. Hopefully we’ll meet again in the future,” added Mac Allister.
There are those who regard him as one of the best midfielders and he maintained his characteristic humility: “I’m a bit embarrassed about it and I try not to focus too much on that. If you focus on that when things are going well, you also focus on that when things are going badly. I try to stay calm. I’m aware that I’m at a great level, at a great club and with teammates who help me to be a little better every day.
The midfielder, who made the leap to Europe from Boca Juniors, referred to Messi’s absence through injury. “We know that we have to be stronger when Leo is not here, because we don’t have that player who, when things go wrong, can save you. On the other hand, when Messi is there, our opponents are a bit more afraid, which is normal. We also have players who play in big European clubs and our opponents, when they see Argentina, know that it’s not going to be an easy game,” he commented.
Finally, the Argentinos Juniors-raised player explained how he felt when he heard that Scaloni had doubts about staying on. “It took us all by surprise, but it was something we had to respect. He had to take his time to think about the future and well, thank God he stayed with us,” he concluded.