‘He was written off’: Sam Allardyce says Liverpool could’ve sold their £29m player years ago

By Charles Jones

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Sam Allardyce has been discussing Roberto Firmino’s Liverpool legacy after it was announced that he’ll be leaving the club at the end of the season.

Firmino will undoubtedly go down as a Liverpool legend after eight years of good service at Anfield, but he wasn’t always on this trajectory.

Indeed, as Allardyce notes, Firmino had a slow start to life at Anfield, and the ex-England boss reckons that the Brazilian could easily have been sold after his first two years on Merseyside.

Firmino could’ve gone

Allardyce spoke about Firmino and his slow start at Liverpool.

“Brendan signed him, he took a year, nearly two seasons to play like he played. He was written off in that first season ‘waste of money, why did we buy him?’ All of that stuff that goes around in the game now. He settled in and off he goes. He could easily have been sold on. Full marks to him, lovely touches, vision, delicate passes, goals and assists,” Allardyce said.

Patience

Allardyce’s comments just show how important patience can be with certain players in football.

As he says, Firmino could’ve been sold swiftly after arriving at Liverpool, but if he had gone, the Reds would likely never have won a Premier League or a Champions League title.

This level of patience can be vital, especially for attacking players, and that’s something the Reds should keep in mind with Darwin Nunez at the moment.

The Uruguayan may not have had the Erling Haaland-esque impact that some expected him to have when he arrived, but we have seen some green shoots in recent weeks and he looks like he’s ready to explode and become something very special.

Allardyce says that some labelled Firmino as a ‘waste of money’ at one point, but now, £29m looks like an absolute bargain for the attacker.