Andoni Iraola responds to Alexis Mac Allister Liverpool bombshell and drops exciting Bradley Barcola hint

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has said that he wants Alexis Mac Allister to stay at Anfield for the long term, immediately after the midfielder revealed his sadness at not being offered a new contract, with the Spaniard also making some interesting comments about Bradley Barcola’s playing time.

Following the 2-0 win against Ipswich Town in the Premier League last week, Liverpool are now preparing for their first Champions League game of the season against Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday.

Iraola, who was appointed Liverpool manager this summer, gave his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

As reported by BBC Sport, just before Iraola took the chair, Argentina international midfielder Mac Allister said that he is sad that he has not been offered a new contract by Liverpool.

Mac Allister was the subject of interest from Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City in the summer of 2026, as reported by TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, on August 14.

The midfielder has been on the books of Liverpool since the summer of 2023 and is under contract at the Merseyside club until 2028.

Alexis Mac Allister wants new Liverpool contract

Mac Allister said: “There was a chance, like everybody knows.

“I received the news that the club was not in a position to renew my contract, which of course makes me very sad.

“I think everyone can see I give my 100% for this club, every single day in training, I have good games, bad games.

“I always give my best.

“I see Dominik and Rayan [Gravenberch] renewing their contracts, which makes me happy.

“Same time it makes me sad I didn’t get mine.

“There is still time, I will give my 100% until my last day.

“We will see what happens.

Alexis Mac Allister was left “very, very sad” after Liverpool decided 𝐍𝐎𝐓 to offer him a new contract 😥 pic.twitter.com/yoZkn7AXFH

— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) September 8, 2026

“There was options to leave this summer.

“Right now I’m in the right club.”

When asked why Liverpool did not renew his contract, Mac Allister said: “Not really, I did not have any direct conversations.

“They were with my agent.

“I don’t want to say things they never said, but they said they were not in the position to renew me.”

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Andoni Iraola reacts to Alexis Mac Allister comments

Iraola was subsequently asked about Mac Allister’s comments.

The Liverpool manager said: “We all have personal situations with different contracts.

“The important thing is he wants to be here.

“We haven’t been together a long time, but he has been an important player and I rate him very highly.

“There is still a lot of time to talk about those contract situations.”

Iraola added: “I try to help my players, I don’t know how much they earn.

“I know how to improve my players, to help them win games.

“The same with Alexis and everyone else.

“I am very happy with his performances, and I hope I can help him to still improve.

“He is very experienced player who has achieved massive things, but I hope he can develop as a player and if all goes well those problems will be solved.”

Bradley Barcola could start for Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid

Iraola has also suggested that Bradley Barcola could start for Liverpool against Atletico on Wednesday evening.

Barcola, who won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain in the last two seasons, joined Liverpool in the summer of 2026 for £125millon.

The French winger came on as a substitute against Ipswich after 64 minutes.

Iraola said when asked if Barcola is ready to start: “I think he is ready for more minutes.

“He has been training quite normally, the only thing is he hasn’t had the pre-season minutes that players have.

“I see him in a really good place and I see him like a normal player. He has not had minutes to build his form, but I see him playing very well.”

Iraola was also asked whether he will rotate the squad going forward.

The former Bournemouth manager said: “This is going to be a challenge. I don’t think this game is the worst scenario as we played on Friday, so we’ve had good recovery.

“I think it will be more difficult for next weekend and the next game against Spurs in the Carabao Cup. This is what big clubs do, you have to think about the next games.

“I will not tell you the starting line-up. My players still don’t know the line-up, so I will not tell you.

“I have to consider we have more games and where they are physically. I don’t think this match is the most difficult scenario we will have this season.”

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