The 66-year-old broadcaster and TalkSport presenter said his heart temporarily stopped during the eight-hour operation, which took place just six weeks ago.
Brazil said: “I’ll be frank, I’m very, very lucky to be here.”
He said he had been dealing with ongoing health issues and had seen numerous specialists before being told a transplant was necessary.
He said: “I finished at quarter to 10 and at 10 I had to phone Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
“They said ‘get in right now’.
“At 2.30 that afternoon I was on the slab and they opened me up.”
READ MORE: Ipswich Town’s Alan Brazil leaves talkSPORT after sickness
Brazil, who played for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and the Scotland national team during his football career, said it was his family who persuaded him to go through with the surgery.
He said: “I didn’t want to do it but my kids and Jill (his wife) said ‘you have to do it, you are doing it’.”
He described the operation in detail.
He said: “I was under for something like eight hours.
“They transplanted my liver.
“My heart did stop for a bit and it came back on its own.”
READ MORE: TalkSPORT’s Alan Brazil misses another show due to sickness
While he has been off-air since the operation, Mr Brazil said he is slowly recovering and hopes to return to TalkSport in the coming weeks.
He said: “I am still here.
“Gradually, every day improving and looking forward to getting back.”
Brazil praised the team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for saving his life.
He added: “I copped it, but thank God, luckily, the guys at Addenbrooke’s Hospital have saved my life.
“I am on the mend. Still not there, but I am getting there.”