Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has made a Real Madrid transfer claim with new head coach Jose Mourinho plotting some summer moves to revamp his Bernabeu roster
09:32, 08 Jul 2026
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho gives a thumbs up at the World Cup.
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho represented Brazil at the World Cup.(Image: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has made it clear that he would welcome the chance to move to Real Madrid this summer — even though there is no suggestion that the Spanish giant is looking to sign him.
Fabinho, who was knocked out of the World Cup this week with Brazil, left Anfield in 2023. He played for Real Madrid briefly early in his career before joining AS Monaco, where he really established himself in the European game.
Now at Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, Fabinho says it would be impossible to turn Real Madrid down, with Jose Mourinho currently revamping his squad at the Bernabeu after taking over from Alvaro Arbeloa.
Arbeloa, who is the new manager of Fulham, replaced Xabi Alonso at the turn of the year, with Mourinho installed as Florentino Perez's chosen successor.
In the aftermath of Brazil's defeat to Norway, with the latter set to take on England in the quarter-finals, Fabinho was asked by El Chiringuito TV about the possibility of a Real Madrid move, and made his thoughts clear.
"Would I like to return to Real Madrid? Who wouldn’t like being at Real Madrid? It’s the best club in the world," he said.
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho now plays for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho now plays for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.(Image: Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)
Fabinho, now 32, came off the bench three times for Brazil during the World Cup. Carlo Ancelotti's side, though, was unable to leave much of a mark on the tournament.
That did not go down well in Brazil, with former player and prominent pundit Neto laying into the current crop.
"It’s a generation that won f--k all," he said. “There are six players who won one Copa America and that’s it.
"It was embarrassing from the beginning and everything that happened before that game. It was a shameful campaign and these guys are losers. It’s a generation of lies."
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Globoesporte said Ancelotti's substitutions against Norway made the team worse, with the Italian having been brought in to get the best out of a group with more talent than it showed.
"The Selecao are out of the World Cup and Ancelotti’s plan failed," it said. "Brazil bet on a booby-trap game: they gave the ball to Norway and bet on a transition at speed. It worked very little.
"The penalty missed by Bruno Guimaraes would have given the game a different shape, but the Selecao bet big on a style that does not match its tradition and they did not know how to be lethal when they had chances.
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"You can’t even regret it. You can’t say there was injustice. You can’t even say the defeat happened but we played like Brazil."