Roberto Firmino is leaving Liverpool this summer but the Brazil international is not planning to join one of Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League rivals.
So say Torcedores; the Brazil international weighing up his options as he prepares to bring an emotional end to nearly a decade of goals and glory at Anfield.
Firmino, a shock signing from Hoffenheim back in 2015, will be a free agent in July. It has already been announced that the 31-year-old will not be signing a new deal. The toothy, technically-gifted centre-forward bringing the curtain down after over 350 appearances and six trophies.
With his 32nd birthday still six months away, however, Firmino still has plenty left to offer. A lot of oil left in the tank.
Roberto Firmino is leaving Liverpool
Torcedores believe that Barcelona, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund and Roma have already emerged as ‘possible destinations’. Xavi’s La Liga leaders want another attacker to provide support for Robert Lewandowski. Firmino’s free-agent status, meanwhile, may appeal to a Barca side facing another summer of financial uncertainty.
Firmino’s vast experience would come in very handy in a callow Dortmund dressing room too, while Benfica may need a replacement for the similarly raumdauter-y Goncalo Ramos.
One option Firmino is apparently dismissing, however, is the prospect of leaving Liverpool for another Premier League side. The three-time Champions League finalist reportedly has no interest in extending his eight-year stay in English football.
That will come as a relief to Klopp; the Liverpool boss fully aware that, while Firmino’s talents may have been diminished by age, he still possesses the supreme quality required to transform games all on his own at Premier League level.
“Yes, he told me (he was leaving) Surprised? Yes, a little bit,” Klopp told Goal earlier in March.
“I respect that a lot. It’s completely normal in this kind of long relationship that we have. It’s pretty special and I loved the reception he got when he came on against (Manchester) United.
“He told me and then the only other thing he said is; ‘Now I want to bring this wonderful story to a positive end’.”
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