Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister has opened up on how close he came to abandoning English football entirely, a choice that could have dramatically transformed his career path.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a fairytale upward trajectory over the past few season - claiming the Premier League title with Liverpool and guiding Argentina to Copa America and World Cup glory - yet he initially found the going tough following his arrival in England.
Mac Allister joined Brighton from Argentinos Juniors in January 2019 but was immediately loaned back to the club before spending the subsequent campaign at Boca Juniors.
Following impressive displays during these stints in his native country, Brighton brought Mac Allister back in January 2020, with his debut coming against Wolves in March 2020.
However, that proved to be the Seagulls' last match before football ground to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the playmaker isolated away from his friends and family in an entirely new setting. The cultural upheaval of exchanging Argentina for England and struggling for minutes with Brighton combined with the impact of the continuing pandemic, left Mac Allister feeling very alone.

He confessed to packing his suitcase to pursue a move elsewhere, which might have stopped him from becoming a champion for Liverpool and Argentina.
"As footballers, we always say that you become a man very early. But in other ways, you're still a boy," Mac Allister penned for Players' Tribune, looking back on his period at Brighton in 2020. "I was calling my mom on FaceTime every day, asking how to turn on the oven and where to put the detergent. And being alone, without playing, you get depressed.
"Many don't know this, but by that Christmas, with no fans in the stadiums, I had my bags packed. Literally, they were packed. I had two offers to leave - one from Russia and another from Spain, and my mind was made up. My mom was back in Buenos Aires, and I called her one day crying my eyes out, telling her, 'I quit. I can't do this anymore.' But moms.... They always know what to say, don't they?"
Mac Allister clearly heeded his mother's counsel and remained at Brighton. When the Premier League returned, he appeared in all bar one of the Seagulls' fixtures. Following a period drifting in and out of the side, Mac Allister established himself as a regular starter the subsequent campaign, with his performances ultimately securing his return to the Argentina squad months ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp subsequently pursued the World Cup victor, with Mac Allister forming part of a midfield transformation that established the groundwork for Arne Slot's championship-winning outfit. Mac Allister, who also delivered an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota, remains acutely conscious of how vastly different his career trajectory might have been had he disregarded his mother's wisdom in 2020.
"I have to give a big hug to my mother," Mac Allister said. "Without her, none of this would have happened. I would not be a Premier League champion. I certainly would not be a World Cup champion. Maybe you would not even know my name. Can you imagine if I had left for Spain? For Russia? I would be an answer in one of those pub quizzes they have in England.
"Next question: who was the Argentinian guy with the Irish name who played 15 games for Brighton? Ahhhh, damn. Who was that guy? Mac something... What happened to him?" But no, that was not my fate. My mom saved me.."
Mac Allister featured 35 times as Liverpool secured the Premier League crown by 10 points last season. As he gears up to assist the Reds in defending their title, the midfielder confesses to feeling proud about refusing to abandon his ambition.
"In 2020, my name was nothing. I couldn't get a game for Brighton," Mac Allister reflected. "I was crying with my mom on FaceTime, begging to come home. Two years later, I was a World Cup Champion. Then a Copa America champion. Now I'm a Premier League champion. Even a Ballon D'Or nominee.
"That's football, no? It's so crazy. The only way that I can explain my story is that I never gave up. That's what I'd like to teach my daughter in a few years. Yes, Daddy fought against a lot of things, but he knew how to overcome them all. You just keep fighting. That's the great lesson."
This article originally appeared on Mirror
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