Alexis Mac Allister's Future at Liverpool: A Contract Conundrum

Alexis Mac Allister’s Liverpool future is back under the microscope, even as he prepares for the biggest game of his international career.

The midfielder is in the thick of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup campaign and is expected to start against England in the semi-final, yet talk around Anfield is not about his next opponent. It is about his next contract – or rather, the absence of one.

No talks, plenty of noise

According to BBC Sport, Mac Allister has not entered into negotiations with Liverpool over a new deal. He still has two years left on the contract he signed when he arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2023 for £35m, so there is no immediate deadline looming, no ticking clock forcing hands. But the silence is striking.

Especially for a player who, at 27, should be in his prime and has already proved he can shape a title-winning midfield.

Mac Allister was central to Liverpool’s surge to the Premier League crown in Arne Slot’s first season. He knitted play, absorbed pressure, and gave the side a measure of control in big moments. Then came the drop. Last season his form tailed off sharply, exposing some of the questions that had been parked during the trophy run.

That dip has not killed the market’s interest. His name continues to surface around Real Madrid, a link that has lingered almost since the day he signed for Liverpool. Yet, as has so often been the case, there is talk but no movement. The same report stresses there is no active discussion with Madrid, nor with any other club, over a transfer.

For now, the expectation is simple: Mac Allister stays at Liverpool and works under new head coach Andoni Iraola next season.

A contract puzzle at Anfield

The intrigue lies in the contrast.

Dominik Szoboszlai, whose deal also runs to 2028, is reportedly in talks over improved terms. Ryan Gravenberch has already put pen to paper on a new contract, committing his future in May. Liverpool have moved decisively with some of their key midfield pieces.

With Mac Allister, they have not.

On one level, it is a calculated pause. Iraola has yet to work with the Argentine in a competitive setting. Liverpool may want to see how he fits into the Basque coach’s high-energy, front-foot system before making a long-term call. Does Mac Allister become the heartbeat of a new era, or a valuable asset whose peak value might lie on the market?

His situation is also framed by uncertainty around others in that area of the pitch. Curtis Jones faces his own crossroads, with Inter Milan pushing hard and seeing a third bid turned away by the club. The midfield, once the bedrock of Liverpool’s identity, is being reshaped in real time.

Against that backdrop, Mac Allister sits in a curious middle ground: not on the market, not in talks, not entirely secure either.

Waiting on Iraola’s verdict

There is no indication of a breakdown in relations, no suggestion of a looming standoff. This is not a contract saga in the classic sense. It is something subtler – a top club holding its nerve, a key player operating under a spotlight that grows a little brighter with every week of delay.

Liverpool know what Mac Allister can be at his best: a World Cup winner with the technique and temperament to run games at the highest level. They have also seen the other side, when his influence fades and the midfield around him looks exposed.

So the club waits. Iraola waits. Mac Allister, for now, focuses on England and a World Cup semi-final.

When he returns from the United States and the dust of the tournament settles, Liverpool will have a decision to make. Does he become the cornerstone of Iraola’s Liverpool, or the big name whose future bankrolls the next phase of the rebuild?