Liverpool have confirmed their first permanent transfer of the January 2025 window, although it involves a departure rather than a new signing.
Reports from Brazil over the weekend revealed that Fluminense had been in talks with Liverpool regarding the transfer of goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga, who is said to have expressed a wish to return to his home country. The move has now been finalized, with the 22-year-old joining Fluminense permanently, the club where he started his career before moving to Liverpool in 2020. The transfer is subject to international clearance.
Pitaluga was recalled from his loan at Livingston to facilitate the move back to Brazil. Despite being a part of Liverpool’s senior matchday squad on seven occasions, he never played a competitive first-team match for the club. Aside from his time at Livingston, Pitaluga also had loan spells at Macclesfield Town and St Patrick’s Athletic.
Given that Liverpool already have two top-class goalkeepers in Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher, along with reliable third-choice Vitezslav Jaros and the anticipated arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer, Pitaluga’s chances of securing regular first-team action at Anfield were slim.
While he made just two appearances on loan at Livingston, both in the Scottish Challenge Cup, he did feature in occasional pre-season matches for Liverpool. Alisson Becker, one of the world’s best goalkeepers, has praised Pitaluga as a “dedicated” and “really talented” player.
Although Pitaluga never got the opportunity to play competitively for Liverpool, the lack of playing time was more a reflection of the club’s strong depth in goal rather than any fault of his own. We wish him all the best as he returns to Fluminense, a club that recently won the 2023 Copa Libertadores.
