After seeing his contract with Liverpool expire at the end of the previous season, the Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino has signed a free move with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli. Since joining the Reds in 2015 from Hoffenheim, the 31-year-old forward has scored 111 goals in 362 matches for the club.
This summer, numerous Saudi clubs have made high-profile signings, and Firmino is one of them. The Saudi Arabian Football League has set a goal of becoming one of the top five leagues in the world. Edouard Mendy, a goalkeeper from Senegal, has only recently joined Al-Ahli after leaving Chelsea, and other players, like N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Karim Benzema, Ruben Neves, and Marcelo Brozovic, have also relocated to Saudi Arabia.
Alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Firmino was an indispensable cog in Liverpool’s potent offensive trio this season. It was in large part due to his contributions that the squad was able to triumph in the Champions League in 2019, the Premier League in 2020, and both the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022. Additionally, he scored the game-winning goal in the extra period that led Liverpool to victory over Flamengo and the FIFA Club World Cup in December of 2019.
After the final game of the season, Firmino, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner all left Liverpool to the sound of a rousing ovation from their former teammates and fans. Despite this, the most raucous applause was saved for Firmino as he was leaving the field.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which also owns Newcastle United, recently made the decision to take control of four of the most successful teams in the country, which has led to the recent trend of high-profile signings by Saudi clubs. The former Liverpool midfielder and current Al-Ettifaq manager is Steven Gerrard. Gerrard most recently managed Liverpool.