Fabinho opens up on painful Liverpool exit and admits Jurgen Klopp opened door for Al-Ittihad move despite labelling Brazilian as one of the best midfielders in the world

Fabinho's departure raised quite a few eyebrows as he was almost always a regular starter under then-manager Jurgen Klopp and featured in 219 matches across all competitions in five seasons. Now, two years since his painful exit from Anfield, the 31-year-old has revealed what exactly happened behind the scenes. 

Speaking to The Guardian, the Selecao star said: "I didn’t want to leave the club and go to any other club in Europe. I thought it was the best place in the world to play, to keep developing as a player. I wanted my legacy and my history at the club to grow even more but our last season was very gruelling, tiring. We didn’t do well and failed to qualify for the Champions League. I lost my position as a starter for a few games, but that happens.

"I came back for the following season, even though the previous one hadn’t been good, with a very good mentality and wanting to fight for the Premier League title again. But before the season started, Al-Ittihad made an offer for me and the Liverpool directors said it was very good for the club and for me. I was afraid and decided to wait to see what [the coaching staff] would say. I thought I was an important player and that they would refuse any offer, but I realised that the club was open to selling me."

Fabinho added, "He called me and asked me what I wanted. I said that I’d heard the offer and liked it but that I wanted to hear from him what he thought. He said that if there are any players who want to leave, he won’t hold them back. It was a speech that kind of opened the door for me to leave. 

"That conversation with the coach could have kept me at the club but he left it open and I didn’t like it very much. I always like to do a prayer before I make my decisions. Liverpool is a club I love but the things that happened at the time steered my life towards Arabia. I left in peace and happy with my decision."

Fabinho lastly spoke highly of his former club as he said: "Liverpool is a sensational club that helps us with everything. Not just on the pitch but in your life too. Everything they’ve done for me and my family has been spectacular; I’ve never seen anything like it. Everywhere you go, not only in England, the supporters show a lot of love for the club and the players."

Fabinho is likely to feature in Al-Ittihad's first competitive match of the new season as the reigning Saudi champions take on Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on August 19.