Alexis Mac Allister has pulled back the curtain on the most awkward storyline inside Liverpool’s dressing room.
The 27-year-old Argentina midfielder told Edul, in an interview filmed at his home, that Liverpool informed him last season they did not plan to open talks on an extension to his deal, which runs until the summer of 2028.
“Last season I was told that the club’s idea was not to renew it, at least for now,” he said in the interview carried by Goal. “And obviously, that was a painful, unpleasant situation.”
The blow has not pushed him toward the exit. Mac Allister has been one of Andoni Iraola’s most reliable starters since the Spaniard replaced Arne Slot over the summer, with four goals from central midfield this season.
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The Szoboszlai and Gravenberch precedent
Mac Allister’s optimism is built on recent club history.
Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, signed in the same 2023 summer window as the Argentine, were initially in the same contractual limbo. Gravenberch signed a fresh deal in March that runs until 2032, and Szoboszlai is now committed until 2031, according to Goal.
“Look at Szoboszlai and Gravenberch,” Mac Allister told Edul. “They’re two players who were in the same contractual situation as me, and when I was told that, they renewed their contracts.”
He also pointed to a changed operational picture at Anfield: new manager, new sporting director, and, in his words, “new investors are coming into the club.” That was his framing for why nothing feels final.
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Real Madrid and Manchester City circling
The backdrop is a transfer market pulling at Liverpool’s sleeve.
Real Madrid have placed Mac Allister high on their midfield shortlist, and Manchester City are also tracking him, according to reports gathered by TeamTalk. Several English outlets now report Liverpool are preparing a contract offer, a shift from the stance the club held a year ago.
Mac Allister told Edul, as carried by Empire of the Kop, that the original decision was business rather than personal, reasoning that clubs do not want to lose large sums of money or see players walk away on free transfers.
His contract runs until the summer of 2028. Liverpool are now reported to be drafting the offer they declined to make a year ago.
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