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Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has outlined how a conversation with Jurgen Klopp prompted him to leave Anfield. The Brazilian midfielder parted ways with the Reds in the summer of 2023 to move to Al-Ittihad, when the German manager was in charge.
The Saudi club reportedly paid the Merseyside club £40m for Fabinho's signature. Klopp, interestingly, stayed for another campaign, before leaving the following summer.
Speaking to The Guardian, the 31-year-old added that he wasn't pleased to find that the German manager wouldn't stop him from leaving.
“He called me and asked me what I wanted. I said that I’d heard the offer and liked it, but that I wanted to hear from him what he thought. He said that if there are any players who want to leave, he won’t hold them back. It was a speech that kind of opened the door for me to leave. That conversation with the coach could have kept me at the club but he left it open and I didn’t like it very much,” said Fabinho.
He continued:
“I always like to do a prayer before I make my decisions. Liverpool is a club I love, but the things that happened at the time steered my life towards Arabia. I left in peace and happy with my decision.”
Liverpool appointed Arne Slot as Klopp's successor last summer, and the Dutchman won the Premier League last season.
Has Darwin Nunez left Liverpool?
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Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez has left Liverpool to join Al-Hilal in a permanent transfer, the club have confirmed. The Uruguayan striker's future at Anfield had come under scrutiny following the arrival of Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer.
The Reds reportedly agreed a £79m deal, including add-ons, with the German side for the French striker. Interestingly, recent reports have suggested that the Merseyside club are also eyeing a move for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak.
The situation further complicated matters for Nunez, who hasn't been at his best since arriving in 2022 from Benfica in a reported £85m deal. Liverpool have now moved him on this summer, with Al-Hilal reportedly paying £46.3m for the 26-year-old.
Nunez registered 40 goals from 143 games during his stay with the Premier League champions. The Uruguayan won the Community Shield during his first season in England, and also lifted the EFL Cup in the 2023-24 campaign. Nunez also played an important role in the Reds' league triumph last season.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
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