Fabinho’s bosses at Al-Ittihad mightn’t be overly thrilled with what he’s had to say about Mo Salah possibly joining him in Saudi Arabia, but Liverpool fans surely will.
The Egyptian winger was the subject of a £150m bid from the Jeddah club at the end of the summer transfer window, but the Anfield hierarchy rejected it out of hand (The Guardian).
They could try their luck for the 31-year-old again next year in an attempt to reunite him with his former Reds teammate, but the Brazilian midfielder insists he’s quite happy to see our number 11 continuing to make history on Merseyside.
Speaking to talkSPORT after Al-Ittihad beat Auckland City 3-0 in the Club World Cup on Tuesday, Fabinho said: “At this moment Mo Salah is happy at Liverpool. He’s scoring goals every game and he has been their best player.
“I’m very happy for Mo. This season he will stay at Liverpool so I wish him all the best and hope he keeps scoring goals and winning trophies with Liverpool.”
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Any Liverpool fans who were scorned by Fabinho departing the club for Saudi Arabia in the summer will probably now forgive him for encouraging Salah to stay put at Anfield even if Al-Ittihad try again to sign him.
The 31-year-old became only the fifth player in the Reds’ history to reach 200 goals when he netted against Crystal Palace on Saturday, his equaliser in the 2-1 win at Selhurst Park taking his tally for the season to 14 (Transfermarkt).
Very few players have scored so consistently for so long in a red shirt, and if he continues to come up with the goods over the next five months, he could well add to his trophy haul at LFC.
With other ex-Liverpool players in Steven Gerrard, Bobby Firmino and Jordan Henderson discovering that the grass isn’t necessarily greener in the riches of Saudi Arabia, it’s refreshing to hear Fabinho being so candid, perhaps realising that the country’s top flight isn’t befitting of its glitzy status.
All we have to say to Mo Salah is, listen to your former teammate – he gives good career advice!
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