Former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has opened up about the surprising manner in which he discovered the club's record-breaking £65 million signing of Alisson Becker, admitting the news "caught me off guard" as he learned of it through media reports rather than internal communication.
World-Record Transfer Arrives Without Warning
Liverpool shattered the global transfer record for a goalkeeper in the summer of 2018 when they secured Brazilian international Alisson Becker from AS Roma for an unprecedented £65 million fee. However, not everyone within the Anfield setup was aware of the impending deal, with Karius revealing he was completely in the dark about the seismic acquisition.
Champions League Final Fallout Precipitates Change
The decision to pursue Alisson came amid growing concerns about Karius's form following his calamitous performance in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid. During that fateful match in Kyiv, Karius made two critical errors that directly contributed to Liverpool's 3-1 defeat.
The first mistake saw him attempt to roll the ball to a defender, only for Karim Benzema to intercept and deflect it into the net, giving Madrid the lead. Later in the game, he fumbled Gareth Bale's long-range effort into his own goal, effectively sealing Real's victory.
It was later revealed that Karius had been playing with concussion during that final, but the damage to his Liverpool career proved irreversible. He never played another competitive match for the Reds following that night in Ukraine.
"No One Told Me" - Karius Reveals Communication Breakdown
Speaking candidly to the Independent, Karius explained how he discovered Liverpool were signing his replacement: "It took me a bit off guard. I just read it in the news. No one told me before that they were making the signing or spoke with me, but I guess that's football."
When he questioned why he hadn't been informed, Karius was told that the club "cannot let 30 players know every time we sign a player in their position." Despite this communication lapse, the German goalkeeper insists there's "no bad blood" about the situation, acknowledging that Alisson "has done a fantastic job up to today, he's a great goalkeeper."
However, Karius did suggest that better communication might have helped: "But if they planned on this from the beginning, maybe someone could have like put me on notice a little earlier."
Career Rebuilding After Liverpool Exit
Following the Champions League final and Alisson's arrival, Karius' Liverpool career effectively ended. He spent loan spells with Besiktas and Union Berlin before leaving Anfield when his contract expired in the summer of 2022.
The goalkeeper admits that after being released by Liverpool, he considered walking away from football entirely. "It was not the worst six months," Karius reflected about his time without a club. "I still enjoyed myself. I spent a lot of time with my family, I did a lot of travelling, a lot of things that normally you can't do when you're in your everyday routine."
New Chapter at Schalke with Bundesliga Ambitions
Karius has since managed to resurrect his career at FC Schalke 04, where he's now vying for a return to the Bundesliga after the club's relegation in 2023. The goalkeeper expressed his commitment to the Schalke cause, stating: "It would mean a lot to everyone – not just to me – at this club that is supporting every day through really bad times and through good times."
He added: "To see all these people, the joy that they have right now watching us play is really special. I'm trying to give them as much as possible special moments in the second half of the season. We'll see where it takes us, but ultimately that's a goal I have. It would be a really nice story."
While Karius looks to write a positive new chapter in Germany, his revelations about Liverpool's record-breaking goalkeeper signing provide a fascinating insight into the sometimes brutal realities of professional football, where even multi-million pound transfers can occur without warning to those most directly affected.
