Liverpool signing Thiago Alcantara reveals Philippe Coutinho and Xabi Alonso talks before Anfield move

Thiago Alcantara has revealed he spoke to former Liverpool stars Philippe Coutinho and Xabi Alonso before making the switch from Bayern Munich.

The highly-decorated Spaniard signed for the Premier League champions on Friday in a deal worth an initial £20million with a further £5m in add-ons, bringing an end to speculation over his future.

The midfielder - who will wear the no.6 shirt at Liverpool - completed a historic Treble alongside Coutinho with Bayern in August.

And although he is joining one of the strongest teams in Europe, Thiago has revealed his desire to move was impacted by his conversations with both Coutinho and Alonso about Liverpool's cultural attraction.

Asked if he had spoken to any former players before joining, Thiago told Liverpool's official website: "Yeah, for sure. More than the football aspect because in the end, Liverpool is what it is for the last years, the last decades.

"They were amazing, they performed and it is raising every year as much as you can, as much as they can, as much as we can, is what I should say.

"More than that, it is the family aspect, the life aspect – how is the city? Where to go. How was the life [here]?

"People like Philippe Coutinho and Xabi Alonso helped me a lot to take this last step. It’s really good."

Thiago has also expressed his delight to be working under Jurgen Klopp and joked about he got the better of his new manager during his days as Borussia Dortmund coach.

He said: "I am glad to have him as a coach to try to reach my football, to try to learn as much as I can with the team.

"Yeah, he suffered a little bit with me there in the Bundesliga when he was at Dortmund! But in football, you have these moments of joy and also you have not-so-good moments. We suffered that with elimination last year against Liverpool."

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