Ex-Liverpool favourite reveals how one conversation with Klopp ‘opened the door’ for Anfield exit | OneFootball

Jurgen Klopp will always be regarded as a deity among Liverpool fans for everything that he achieved at Anfield, although one former Reds player has recounted how a conversation with the German eventually led to his exit from the club.

Fabinho signed for LFC within two days of our agonising Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in 2018, winning that trophy and the Premier League in his first couple of seasons at Anfield and becoming one of the world’s best defensive midfielders throughout his time on Merseyside.

However, his form (and that of the team as a whole) declined in 2022/23 and he was sold to Al-Ittihad two years ago in a £40m deal, and the 31-year-old has now opened up about his reluctance to leave Liverpool until getting the impression that he wasn’t desperately wanted.

Fabinho: Conversation with Klopp ‘opened the door’ for Liverpool exit

In an interview with The Guardian, Fabinho recalled how Anfield chiefs were inclined to accept the Saudi Pro League club’s offer and how Klopp seemingly left the door open for the midfielder to depart.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The Brazilian said: “I came back for the [2023/24] season, even though the previous one hadn’t been good, with a very good mentality and wanting to fight for the Premier League title again; but before the season started, Al-Ittihad made an offer for me and the Liverpool directors said it was very good for the club and for me.

“I was afraid and decided to wait to see what [the coaching staff] would say. I thought I was an important player and that they would refuse any offer, but I realised that the club was open to selling me.

“[Klopp] 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.”

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Fabinho still in awe of Klopp despite sudden Liverpool exit

Even though Fabinho’s form had regressed during his final season at Liverpool, the decision to let him leave seemed to come out of the blue – it wasn’t as though he was being earmarked for an exit before Al-Ittihad put their offer on the table.

Klopp was determined to regenerate his midfield that summer by sanctioning a series of ins and outs in that position, which had been a major weakness for the Reds in the 2022/23 campaign, and hindsight shows that the refresh unquestionably had the desired effect.

However, it’d be a misapprehension to think that player and manager had fallen out. In the same interview, the Brazilian hailed his former boss as a role model if he were to go into coaching in future years, while the German eulogised our one-time number 3 upon his transfer to the Saudi Pro League.

Indeed, Klopp was quite vociferious about the then-LFC midfielder being overlooked for several Brazil squads when Tite was in charge of the Selecao earlier in the decade.

Fabinho will be recalled by Liverpool fans as a pillar of the team which became European champions in 2019 and racked up consecutive seasons of 95+ points in the top flight, with the midfielder particularly excellent during the title-winning campaign of 2019/20.

His time with the Reds appeared to reach a natural end in 2023 despite the suddenness of the Al-Ittihad offer, and even though that conversation with Klopp ultimately pushed him towards the exit door, he can feel assured of a warm welcome back to Anfield whenever he visits in the future.