‘Incredible’: Pepe Reina admits he’s been amazed by what £67m player has been doing at Liverpool

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Villarreal goalkeeper Pepe Reina has praised the impact of Alisson Becker at Liverpool.

Alisson is comfortably the best goalie Liverpool have had since Reina left nine years ago. After joining for £67m in 2018, the Brazilian has arguably outstripped Reina’s own legacy now.

Not that Pepe is bitter, though. Speaking to The Athletic about Liverpool’s current No.1, the former Spain international raved about Alisson.

“Alisson’s performances over the past five years have been incredible,” Reina says. “He has helped the team to grow and become one of the best keepers in the world.

“He has lifted some titles, which is the most important thing, and written his name into the history of Liverpool.”

Reina praises Alisson impact

Until Alisson came along, Reina was the standard that modern-day Liverpool goalkeepers had to measure themselves against.

Unfortunately, all of Simon Mignolet, Loris Karius and whoever had a go in-between weren’t up to scratch.

But then came Alisson. And in the five-and-a-bit years since, Liverpool fans have felt that blissful feeling of having a goalkeeper they can trust in again.

For years Reina was that, too. The 41-year-old took a little bit of a downturn over his final couple of years at Anfield, but he was perfectly solid and at times spectacular across eight seasons as Liverpool’s No.1.

It remains a bit of a shame the way Pepe left the club – forced out on-loan by new manager Brendan Rodgers in 2013, before leaving permanently out the back door a year later.

And it’s also a regret that the Spaniard didn’t win enough at Anfield. One FA Cup and a League Cup the sum of his efforts.

In comparison, Alisson has both of those trophies, as well as a host of others. The fact that the 31-year-old has Premier League and Champions League winners medals at home is perhaps enough for him to trump Reina’s legacy.

However, Ali is still some way behind his predecessor in terms of appearances. Reina featured 394 for the Reds, once going four Premier League seasons without missing a game.

Now on 242, Alisson is starting to creep up. With three-and-a-half years still left on his contract, he’ll hopefully hit and then surpass Reina’s total over time. Two terrific Liverpool goalkeepers.