The news felt inevitable but that doesn’t stop it from being significant: Roberto Firmino is to leave Liverpool and that devastating trident is down will be down to one prong.
Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were the reason that Jurgen Klopp’s restoration of Liverpool was able to have such fantastic results. For five years, from 2017, they were Europe’s finest front three, scoring or assisting 399 of the 611 goals they plundered in that period.
It is an extraordinary statistic and while Mane and Salah did the lion’s share of the finishing, Firmino’s importance must never be understated. In the two years he spent at Hoffenheim before coming to Merseyside, Neymar was the only Brazilian in Europe who was more productive.
They sing on The Kop about Firmino being “the best in the world” and in terms of the job he did for Klopp, nobody was better. When Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015, he couldn’t believe his good fortune to find a forward he had watched blossom at Hoffenheim.
‘I remember when Jurgen came in during his early days,’ Ian Ayre, Liverpool’s former Chief Executive, once told Sportsmail. ‘He said: “What a player! I can’t believe you got him!” He was very, very complimentary. He has been an incredible buy – someone out of the very top drawer.’
Roberto Firmino will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in the summer
Manager Jurgen Klopp wanted the Brazil international to stay but Firmino feels it is time to go
That he has. Ayre was central to Firmino’s transfer – he vividly remembers the frantic journey that involved four flights, three countries and two hemispheres over two days to conclude negotiations at the 2015 Copa America in Chile – and it goes down as one of the club’s best in the modern era.
He was rather unheralded and many wondered what £29million would get Liverpool eight years ago but respected scouts Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter had put hours into studying him and talks with Hoffenheim were effectively carried out in secret so as Firmino would not get distracted.
‘There could have been a problem (in Chile) as the Brazilian FA were running a closed camp and not allowing anyone in to see their squad,’ Ayre added. ‘But we were really lucky as Dunga, their then manager, agreed to let Roberto leave the team hotel and meet me for an hour with his agent.’
Ayre captured the moment he signed on his iPhone for posterity – the picture, of Firmino holding up a red shirt, went viral when it was released – but what the now 31-year-old has done over the last decade means there is much more than pictures for which he will be remembered.
At his best, Firmino was the architect of so much magic and so memories. A relentless trainer, who often had to be told to stay off the pitch to prevent him doing too much, he ran the legs off opposing defenders and provided avenues for Mane and Salah to exploit. His pirouettes, ‘no look’ passes and changes of direction made fools of those trying to contain him.
‘He looked good, tidy, a nice player,’ Jordan Henderson recalls. ‘But when Jurgen came in, things changed. There was a different animal here. It hadn’t been long, he’d only been at the club three months but suddenly you could see the change.
‘I just remember there was a big thing about Bobby. The gaffer said in one meeting: “People don’t realise how good this guy is.” I really hadn’t seen anything that I thought warranted that reaction but, suddenly, a switch had been flicked. Boom! Different player. Different level. Now I got it.
‘I’ve got a very good relationship with Bobby. People think he doesn’t speak English but it’s fine, we can talk and he’s good laugh. You don’t see him in anything other than a good mood. He’s funny, he gets involved in the banter. He’s always smiling, he walks in and lights up a room.’
He lit up Anfield, too. There have, to this point, been 107 goals and 70 assists and while it cannot be disputed that his influence has waned over the last 12 months, as injuries have started to take a toll, it would be a brave judge to say those tallies won’t be added to before the season is over.
The 31-year-old has bagged 107 goals and 70 assists in a glittering Liverpool career, and formed one third of the best front line in Europe for five years
Few players have been more important during the Reds’ golden era under Klopp
He won the Premier League, FA Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League (pictured) with Liverpool
Klopp wanted to keep Firmino but the decision has now been made to move on – Inter Milan would be one of the clubs who want to offer him a new home – for regular starts and that means the chapter is closing on one of Liverpool’s great attacking periods.
Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo, with Salah, will carry the mantle from now but it would be ridiculous to think – or expect – them to match what Firmino and Mane did with the Egyptian through a period that saw Liverpool win all there is to win.
The timing of Mane’s move to Bayern Munich meant he was never afforded the chance to say goodbye but Firmino, at least, will be given the send-off he deserves. In a golden period, few stars have shone brighter.
In recognition of his outstanding play, there can be no higher compliment.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
