Brazil midfielder Fabinho has signed a three-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad after completing his move from Liverpool on Monday.
The 29-year-old was left out of Liverpool’s pre-season squads for trips to Germany and Singapore after Al-Ittihad made a £40 million ($51 million) bid for him.
He will join Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante at Al-Ittihad, one of four Saudi clubs controlled by the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund.
Fabinho joined Liverpool from Monaco in 2018 and made 219 appearances for the Reds, winning the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup.
“Today I leave my home. It’s been five years wearing this jersey and always with the greatest honor and happiness possible,” Fabinho wrote on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X.
“Since day one at Liverpool, I’ve been embraced by everyone,” he added. “In these five years, I grew as a player, as a man, I made dreams come true … With that jersey, I won every title a player can dream of.”
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His departure comes after Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson ended his 12-year stay at Anfield last week, moving to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Ettifaq, who are coached by Steven Gerrard.
Fabinho’s compatriot Roberto Firmino left Merseyside to sign for Al-Ahli earlier this month.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has also seen midfielders Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner depart on free transfers since the end of last season.
But the club have reinforced that area of the field with the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
It comes after French winger Allan Saint-Maximin on Sunday signed a three-year deal with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli after leaving English club Newcastle as the cash-rich and ambitious Gulf kingdom’s league snared another top-level player.
“We pick the best, and he’s one of them,” Al-Ahli said on social media.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed but English press reports have estimated it to be in the region of £23 million.
Saint-Maximin, 26, made 124 appearances for Saudi-backed Newcastle and scored 13 goals since joining from Nice in 2019.
In an emotional social media post, Saint-Maximin wrote: “I fell for Newcastle, I had great opportunities to leave during dark days, but that was too late I was already in love, I wanted, I needed, I had to stay for helping my team to save the club from Premier League relegation because it meant the world for me.
“Of course, during those dark days some may have had their doubts, but I always believed in this club and look where we are today, it’s just so beautiful. I’m leaving Newcastle as it should always have been and that’s my greatest trophy because I was a part of it.
“Even though this chapter has ended, the story never stops. Newcastle is home now. I’ll continue to be your biggest supporter.”
