Liverpool fans were given a treat on Friday night as a 27-minute long chat between head coach Andoni Iraola and former midfielder Thiago Alcantara was aired.

The pair briefly overlapped during their playing careers with the Spanish national team, and are clearly familiar with each other, leading to an interesting and absorbing conversation about management.

Thiago has moved into the world of coaching since retiring aged just 33 in 2024, and given the clear rapport between he and Iraola, his knowledge of the game and Liverpool as a club, it now seems inevitable that the former No. 6 will soon join the Reds’ coaching staff.

If Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo miss Man City, who are you starting in their place? Would you make any other changes to the team too? 👀

Neither of them were spotted in training after picking up suspected injuries on international duty…

Liverpool soft-launch Thiago’s return

Although he played for far longer with Bayern Munich and came through the ranks at Barcelona, Thiago has retained a strong connection with Liverpool since leaving two years ago.

Now 35, Thiago ran the Liverpool Legends fixture back in March, and is still an active contributor, alongside his wife, to the LFC Foundation.

The club clearly means a lot to him, and that came through during his discussion with Iraola, when he recounted some memories and spoke passionately about Anfield and the Liverpool fans in particular.

On the face of it, this could simply have been a former player returning to speak with the current manager – a person he knows well – in order to make for a fascinating interview. But this felt slightly more than that.

It was obvious that Iraola and Thiago align in their ideas on the game, and after there were rumours that Liverpool were looking to add a former player to Iraola’s staff last summer, it is now clear just how strong Thiago’s case is.

He left Barcelona at the end of last season after a stint as part of Hansi Flick’s team, and though he was available to join Liverpool immediately, perhaps there is a badge issue, or something else, which is holding the process up. Either way, it now would be no surprise at all if Thiago makes a comeback to the staff.

Thiago confirmed he didn’t have his badges yet

Having been one of the few players to count both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp as a manager, as well as Carlo Ancelotti, Vicente Del Bosque and a host of other top coaches, Thiago was always going to move into that world.

His football intelligence is second-to-none, and if Liverpool do bring him back onboard, he could impart so much wisdom to the current squad.

However, as he told Rio Ferdinand back in July, Thiago did not have the necessary qualifications at the time to consider any offer from Liverpool.

Three months on, it is not yet known to what extent he has rectified that. But with his meeting with Iraola now complete, and confirmation that they are on the same page arriving, we would be keeping a close eye on this in the coming months.