Since becoming a Premier League and international star, Alexis Mac Allister has stood out not only for his ability on the field, but also for his peculiar surname, which sounds more like that of a Scotland midfielder than an Argentina one.

The current Liverpool man is no relation to former Reds schemer Gary McAllister, in case you were wondering.

In a 2024 interview with Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football podcast, Mac Allister told the story of his family’s origins, although seemingly only part of it.

“It’s actually Irish,” the 2022 World Cup winner explained. “A couple of months ago I received a letter from my family in Ireland, asking me to go there one day. I would love to.”

Mac Allister’s Irish family connection

Mac Allister has, of course, been living just across the Irish Sea for a number of years. He joined Premier League club Brighton in January 2019, although he was immediately loaned back to Argentinos Juniors and then Boca Juniors, where he played alongside brother Kevin, not the “Home Alone” character.

Since making his Brighton debut in March 2020, Mac Allister has been one of the standout performers in the English top flight. In the summer of 2023, he earned a move to Liverpool, where he won the Premier League title in 2024-25.

Despite his proximity to his extended family, he told Lineker he had yet to pay them a visit.

“It feels weird because I’m 25 and it just came now. But hopefully one day I can go and meet all of my family.”

From Scotland and Ireland to Argentina

As explained by The Athletic, Joseph McAllister was one of three members of the family who moved from Donabate, a coastal town just north of Dublin, to Argentina to buy farmland in search of a better life.

The McAllisters emigrated in 1865, only a few years after the end of the Great Famine, which caused around a million deaths in Ireland and forced many millions more to emigrate.

However, two generations before Joseph, Charles McAllister, thought to be from a village in western Scotland, arrived in Donabate midway through the 18th century.

Although ancestral links between the two have not been proven, Andrew MacKillop, who specializes in clan history in his role as senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, told The Athletic they likely exist.

After settling in Argentina, the McAllister clan grew and the family name became Mac Allister, presumably to make pronunciation easier for Spanish-speaking locals who were unfamiliar with English.

Football is a family tradition

Soccer runs heavily in the family. As well as Alexis and Kevin, who plays for Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise and has won one cap for Argentina, eldest brother Francis also plays professionally, currently in Chile.

Father Carlos Mac Allister made three appearances for Argentina in 1993, while cousin Luciano Guaycochea is a well-traveled midfielder who is currently playing in Indonesia.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.