- Planet Sport writer
- 5 July 2023
Roberto Firmino confirms Liverpool exit after completing Al-Ahli switch
Roberto Firmino is the latest star headed to Saudi Arabia after signing a deal with Al-Ahli.
Firmino began his career with Brazilian club Figueirense in 2009 and scored 12 goals in 53 appearances before the inevitable move to European football with German side Hoffenheim.
He scored 49 goals in 153 outings with The Blues, before joining Premier League side Liverpool in a £29million deal in the summer of 2015.
After eight years at Liverpool, where the Brazilian won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup, he joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in July 2023.
Firmino made his debut for Brazil in 2014 and has was a regular until he was controversially left out of their 2022 World Cup squad.
Hoffenheim years
Firmino made his debut for Hoffenheim in February 2011, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
He scored three league goals in the second half of the 2010/11 campaign, adding seven and five in the next two seasons.
He was dropped from the first-team squad at the end of November 2011 after turning up late for training and missed the league match against Bayer Leverkusen.
In July 2013, Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow made a $34million bid for Firmino but he remained with Hoffenheim, going on to enjoy his most productive campaign at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
Roberto Firmino, Hoffenheim, 2015
The 2013/14 season saw the South American find his goalscoring touch, with 22 in all competitions, and he added a further three years to his contract in March 2014.
He was named the league's Breakthrough Player at the end of that season.
He played primarily as an attacking midfielder while at Hoffenheim and did enough to catch the eye of then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
His time at the club came to an end when Liverpool made a successful bid in the summer of 2015.
Career with Liverpool
Firmino put pen to paper on a deal at Anfield on July 4, 2015, and began working under Rodgers before Klopp replaced the Northern Irishman in the dugout later that year.
The German tactician's arrival heralded an improvement in Firmino's play as he was moved into a 'false nine' role.
He scored twice against both Norwich City and Arsenal in January 2016 and was voted Liverpool's Player of the Month. He scored 11 goals in 49 appearances that season.
Roberto Firmino scored against Tottenham
The 2016/17 campaign saw Firmino score 12 goals in 41 outings as he cemented his place as a firm fan favourite. He scored two braces against Leicester City in September and Swansea City in January 2017.
The 2017/18 season was Firmino's most productive and he ended up with 27 goals in all competitions, bagging 15 in the Premier League.
Forming a formidable front three with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane after Philippe Coutinho left for Barcelona mid-season, his game developed and he scored 11 times in Europe as the Reds made it to the Champions League final.
He was included in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season and recognised as one of the best players in Europe.
One downside to that season was a clash with defender Mason Holgate after which the Everton man accused him of making a racist insult. He was cleared after the FA deemed there was insufficient evidence.
In the 2018/19 campaign, he picked up his first silverware as Liverpool won the Champions League title, beating Tottenham in the final. Firmino scored four goals in the competition en route to the showpiece match.
Overall, he was less prolific in front of goal that term, scoring 12 times in the league to add to his European goals.
He notched his first Liverpool hat-trick on December 29 in a 5-1 win over Arsenal, while scoring Liverpool's 1000th goal at Anfield in the Premier League era against Crystal Palace.
He was part of the Liverpool side that won the UEFA Super Cup in the summer of 2019 and the FIFA Club World Cup in December of that year, scoring the winner against Flamengo in the final.
Liverpool ended their long wait for a first Premier League title in 2019/20 but were made to wait even longer due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the season halted in March 2020.
Firmino contributed nine goals and appeared in all 38 of the Merseyside giants' league games, starting 34.
He was part of the Liverpool side that won the 2022 FA Cup and 2022 League Cup, but an injury kept him out of the final of the latter. Firmino also collected runners-up medals in the Champions League and the Premier League in the 2021/22 season.
In the 2022/23 season, Firmino scored his 100th Liverpool goal and netted in his final game for the club in the 4-4 draw with Southampton.
He bowed out of Anfield as the highest-scoring Brazilian ever at Liverpool and in the Premier League. He scored 111 goals in 362 appearances across all competitions for the Reds.
In July 2023, Firmino completed his switch to Saudi Professional League side Al-Ahli on a free transfer.
International career with Brazil
Firmino made his Brazil debut against Turkey on November 12, 2014, playing the last 17 minutes of the match.
He has been a regular in the side since 2015. He scored his first goal against Austria on November 18, 2014, and has bagged many important goals for his nation playing alongside the likes of Neymar and Coutinho.
He played in the 2015 Copa America, scoring in a 2-1 victory over Venezuela, with three goals that year. Brazil were eliminated on penalties at the quarterfinal stage by Paraguay.
Roberto Firmino, Brazil, October 2020
Goals dried up over the next two years as his appearances dwindled but he was back in favour in 2018 and selected for the World Cup by manager Tite. He scored Brazil's second goal in a 2-0 win over Mexico in the Round of 16 but his side were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Liverpool's finest upped his level in 2019, scoring five goals in 15 outings as Brazil won the Copa America. Firmino played all 90 minutes of the final against Peru as the Selecao cruised to the title with a 3-1 triumph.
He scored twice against Bolivia and once against Venezuela in qualification for the 2022 World Cup, but was controversially left out of their final squad for the tournament.
Personal life
Firmino married Larissa Pereira in his hometown of Maceio in June 2017 and the couple have two daughters - Valentina and Bella.
He has numerous tattoos, one of which reads "Family, endless love" and another which says "God is trustworthy." He has a picture of his wife on his arm while the word "Deus" - the Portuguese word for God - can be seen on his neck.
Firmino is a Catholic and was baptised in a swimming pool, surrounded by family, friends and team-mates, on January 14, 2020.
One negative on his CV is an arrest for drink driving in December 2016 for which he was fined $27,000 and banned from driving for 12 months.
He can speak English and German in addition to Portuguese.
He likes to live the good life and has a collection of expensive sports cars. Included in his garage is a Rolls Royce Wraith, a red Ferrari 458, a golden Lamborghini Urus, a Porsche Panamera, a Range Rover Sport SVR and a Porsche Cayenne GTS.
Net worth
Firmino has a net worth of around $30million, and his salary in Saudi Arabia is believed to be around £17million a season.
