‘Alisson 2.0’ – Three ex-Liverpool stars to watch at the Club World Cup
Liverpool may not be in action at the Club World Cup, but some of their former players will be.
The likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan will compete for the revamped title, which the Reds won in 2019 after their Champions League success.
Meanwhile, Arne Slot and his stars will be relaxing, ready to start pre-season and prepare to defend their crown despite qualifying for the competition.
The Reds were the fifth-best performing team in UEFA’s European coefficients, but cannot enter the competition as there is a limit of two clubs per country and the others qualified through their recent successes in Europe’s premier tournament.
However, there may still be some interest for supporters.
Liverpool News have picked out three ex-Reds to watch on the FIFA stage…
‘Outstanding’ Liverpool gem that Jurgen Klopp loved
The first man on the list is Allan Rodrigues, who currently plays for Flamengo in his homeland of Brazil.
The 28-year-old was brought to Anfield in 2015 for a fee of £500,000, and big things were expected, but he ultimately never made a senior appearance for the Reds.
Jürgen Klopp described Allan as an “outstanding talent” back in 2016, but unfortunately, the Anfield outfit never got to see how he could have developed.
He was sent on loan six times until he departed in 2020 in a deal worth £3.2million after failing to secure a work permit.
He will face Chelsea, Leon and ES Tunis in Group D of the competition.
The Reds flop that Steven Gerrard adored
Ryan Kent joined the Reds academy at the age of seven and made one senior appearance for his boyhood club.
He was sent on five different loan spells between 2015 and 2019, with the most promising being the last one at Rangers under Anfield legend Steven Gerrard.
He notched six league goals in his debut campaign in Scotland, winning the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.
Gerrard was desperate to sign him permanently and waxed lyrical about the former Reds ace in April 2019 [Scottish Daily Mail], saying: “From afar, people have an opinion of him which is so far from the truth. But having got to know Ryan, I love him.”
The Oldham-born winger completed a move to the Scottish side in September 2019 and was part of Gerrard’s team that won the league in the 2020-21 season.
He moved to Fenerbahce for the 2023-24 season but now features for Seattle Sounders, who will face Botafogo, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in Group B.
The ‘next Alisson’ that never made it at Liverpool
Brazilian goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga was signed in 2020 from Fluminense in a £1million deal but never made a competitive appearance for the Reds.
The 22-year-old was named in the matchday squad on seven occasions but did not manage to get any action.
Pitaluga regularly trained with the likes of Alisson, Caoimhin Kelleher and Adrian in first-team training and the former helped bring him to Merseyside.
He was considered as the hire to Alisson’s throne when he signed as a 17-year-old but ultimately things did not work out as planned.
He returned to the club from which Liverpool signed him in January 2025 and is set to face Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan and Mamelodi Sundowns in Group F.