‘Not everyone has the full picture’ – Swedish-Eritrean striker Alexander Isak on Liverpool transfer saga

Swedish-Eritrean forward Alexander Isak has broken his silence on his headline-grabbing £130 million move to Liverpool, insisting that ‘not everyone has the full picture’ regarding his acrimonious exit from Newcastle United.

Born in Sweden to Eritrean parents, Isak completed the Premier League-record transfer on deadline day, with Liverpool paying £125m to secure his signature while Newcastle received £130m due to solidarity payments.

The striker had trained away from the Magpies squad during the summer before publicly declaring in August that his relationship with the club “can’t continue.”

Isak made his first competitive appearance of the season on Monday when he came off the bench in Sweden’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Kosovo.

Speaking after the match, the 25-year-old suggested that much of the story surrounding his transfer has yet to be told.

“It’s clear that not everyone has the whole picture, but that’s something for another day,” he said. “That’s part of football. I can’t control everything that is said or written. But I’m glad I became a Liverpool player. That’s what I wanted and I’m happy about that.”

The striker stressed that he preferred to move forward rather than dwell on the saga.

“I’m happy and proud to be a Liverpool player. I don’t want to go into details or talk about that situation too much. It is a closed chapter, but I have never had any problems.”

Isak’s cameo against Kosovo, in which he produced two shots on target, marked his first appearance since May.

Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson later revealed he had only trained three times with the squad and was not ready to start.

Sweden sit third in Group B with one point after two matches, while Switzerland lead with six.