Fabinho has given a long and interesting interview with Esporte Interativo (kindly translated by reddit user mattcrvg) in which he’s explained how he arrived at Liverpool.
The Brazilian, so brilliant during the second half of this season, was signed at the beginning of last summer, right after the Champions League Final – but our scouts had obviously been paying him plenty of attention for months.
According to Fab, after a goalscoring performance for Monaco v Marseille – which we’ve tracked down here – Jurgen Klopp specifically asked Roberto Firmino about his international team-mate.
And we’re mighty glad he did – as this set the ball rolling for what’s now clearly another superb transfer.
“I remember that after one of my games for Monaco, against Marseille, where I’d played well and scored, Firmino sent me a message and we started to talk. He said ‘the coach asked about you, what I thought about you, I talked you up a little bit’. We exchanged some messages for a while, asked him some things about Liverpool and that was it for a bit.
“Then Liverpool reached my agents, made them aware of the interest and set up a meeting with Klopp. We talked about his ideas for the team, work routine, tactics, physical training. My interest was rising, because I had always said that if I were to leave Monaco, it would only be to a team that really wanted me. I was very happy with Liverpool wanting to sign me and then made my mind that it was the right thing to do. It was quick, right after the final against Real Madrid, the signing was made official.
“That moment with Klopp was very important, but also the transition when I arrived. Played pretty much all the preseason games, thought that I played well, and because of that, also thought that I would start playing earlier, not wait as much I did. Others players made sure that I was relaxed, they told me ‘don’t worry, everyone that arrives goes through that, like Robertson and Chamberlain’. I was calm, tried to learn about the team, the other players, getting used to the intensity of the league. After a while, Klopp gave me the chances and little by little I could show my value and that I could be important to the team.”
We’d go as far to suggest the £39m [via BBC Sport] spent on Fabinho is already a massive bargain.
He’s perfect for our anchorman role, as his physicality is outrageous, but his passing top-drawer too.
Plus, with Fabinho in the no.6, Jordan Henderson can fulfil a spot in one of the box-to-box positions either side.
Fabinho is a certainty to start v Spurs in the Champions League Final this Saturday – and he’ll have his work cut out against exceptional attacking midfield dup Christian Eriksen and Delle Ali.
But we’re backing him to do what needs to be done and help us collect no.6 in Madrid.