On Monday, Liverpool lost another midfielder to the emerging Saudi Pro League when Brazil’s Fabinho joined Al-Ittihad, the squad that currently has Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté.
Fabinho left Liverpool, where he had been for 5 years, for an estimated 40 million pounds ($51.5 million).
Jordan Henderson left Liverpool after 12 years to join Al-Ettifaq, another Saudi team, a week prior to his departure. After his contract at Liverpool expired, Roberto Firmino also left for the oil-rich kingdom.
The 29-year-old Fabinho played 219 matches for Liverpool and helped the team win the Premier League and the Champions League.
After losing his form, Fabinho wasn’t always a regular for Liverpool last season. After rebuilding his midfield with the signings of Dominik Szoboszlai, the captain of Hungary and Alexis Mac Allister from Argentina, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is now looking for a holding midfielder to take Fabinho’s spot.
“It’s been five years wearing this jersey and always with the greatest honor and happiness possible,” Fabinho wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He added, “Since day one at Liverpool, I’ve been embraced by everyone. What I saw inside this club, the relationship between the people there, made me feel like family. In these five years, I grew as a player, as a man, I made dreams come true.”