The 29-year-old Brazilian joined James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Arhtur Melo, and Jordan Henderson as the sixth first-team midfielder to leave Liverpool this summer.
Following weeks of rumors, Fabinho has agreed to terms with Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad, where he will join new colleagues Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante in the city of Jeddah.
The move ends his five-year stint with Liverpool, where he made over 200 games and won six titles, including the Premier League and Champions League.
On Monday night, Liverpool’s social media channels were flooded with tributes to the player dubbed “the Lighthouse,” while Fabinho himself posted an emotional farewell message to the club and fans.
Fabinho paid tribute to his Liverpool ‘family’ on social media, accompanied a video compilation of some of his finest moments with the Reds, and chose the Anfield atmosphere during the comeback against Barcelona in 2019 as the ‘defining’ event of his career.
“I’m leaving my house today.” It’s been five years of wearing this jersey with the utmost dignity and delight. I’ve been welcomed by everyone at Liverpool since day one. “What I witnessed inside this club, the relationships among the members, made me feel like family,” he wrote.
“In these five years, I evolved as a player, as a man, and I realized my dreams… With that shirt, I won every championship a player could hope for. The Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup… Thanks to Liverpool, I was able to reach my peak and compete in a World Cup.
“Thanks to Liverpool, I was able to realize a childhood dream of mine: walking into a stadium with my son in my arms.” Thanks to Liverpool, I was able to play in the best stadium in the world, with the best atmosphere, which is Anfield. I experienced the biggest game of my life because to Liverpool, a comeback against Barcelona that was only possible because of Anfield. That moment will live on in my memories forever.
“I adore what this audience signifies for the club. This love affair between the club and its supporters has always amazed me. And I can say without reservation that “you’ll never walk alone” after that game, among our fans, was the most defining moment of my Liverpool career. I say this with a joyful heart: I adore this club. Thank you for everything we’ve been through together, Reds. You will never be on your own.”
Fabinho penned a post for The Players’ Tribune in May in which he detailed the circumstances during the comeback win over Barcelona, emphasizing the power of the crowd that night.
“I don’t think anyone in the stadium sat down for a single second of that game.” My relatives told me that the stewards eventually stopped asking. “They said they’d never seen anything like it,” he wrote.
“I remember doing this crazy slide tackle on Suarez after we scored the first goal in the first 10 minutes.” The referee handed me a yellow card, but I didn’t mind because my adrenaline was pumping. I was reacting to the crowd’s enthusiasm, and they were responding to us. Everyone was ablaze. Every single player and fan.”
