Jurgen Klopp decided in the wake of Loris Karius’ calamitous Champions League final performance that he needed a new goalkeeper.
And Alisson soon became the Liverpool boss’ top target having impressed during his two-year stint at Roma.
Liverpool waited until after the World Cup to hand over £65m for the Brazil international, which made him the most expensive stopper on the planet at the time.
Alisson has since impressed for Liverpool, helping forge a strong backline already bolstered by the January arrival of Virgil van Dijk on Merseyside.
He’s now revealed all on the mixed emotions he had when swapping Serie A for the Premier League though.
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“Leaving Rome was difficult,” Alisson told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I cried a lot, together with my wife.
“It’s only right that I’m honest about it: I made a professional decision; a step forward in my career and for Roma, who earned a huge sum.
“I decided with my head to move to Liverpool, but my heart was full of tears.
“I spent two special years in Rome. My daughter was born there and I have a lot of friends there outside of football.
“Many times I’d spend the night walking the city streets: the Trevi fountain, in the dark, is so beautiful it moves you, but the Colosseum is my favourite place — you can breathe history there.
“[Staying in Rome] went through my mind a lot because I was so happy in Rome, but when a player decides where to play, it’s a much bigger discussion.
“I’ve got big ambitions and so do Liverpool, and now I’m playing in the biggest league in the world.
“[Serie A is] not far behind, it’s just different and less intense.”
Alisson will be back in Italy on Wednesday night as Liverpool face Napoli in the Champions League.
And the 26-year-old is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task facing the Reds.
“It’s always tough playing away against a great club,” Alisson said. “In Napoli, we’ll definitely find really passionate fans, and a team that comes onto the pitch with a huge desire to win.
“The last and only time I played there, we happily got a win, but it was one of the games I had to work hardest in during the season.
“It was one of the toughest games of the season for us in Serie A, so it’s definitely going to be a tough game. They’ve had the same basis of the team for three to four years.
“They had 24 attempts on goal, 13 on target. I made 11 saves and conceded two goals.”
Liverpool are currently top of Champions League Group C following their 3-2 matchday one win over Paris Saint-Germain.