Fabinho's fall from grace: Liverpool looking for a new 'lighthouse' after Brazilian's dramatic decline

The ex-Monaco man was arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world a year ago - now he has been sold to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad

In the end, Arsenal had to pay £105 million to sign Declan Rice, but manager Mikel Arteta is in no doubt that the midfielder will prove excellent value for money. As far as the Spaniard is concerned, Rice is one of those rare, transformative players capable of elevating those around him to a whole new level.

"I see him like a lighthouse," Arteta said of Rice following the completion of the deal. "He is willing to shine the light on others. He improves others and makes the team better."

Listening to Arteta lavish praise on his new signing, it was impossible not to think of Liverpool midfielder Fabinho, as that's exactly the role he used to fulfil at Anfield. He was even referred to as 'The Lighthouse' by assistant coach Pep Lijnders, a thin but towering reference point within Jurgen Klopp's team.

But not anymore. On Monday, Fabinho completed his departure from Liverpool, leaving Merseyside to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in a £40 million ($51m) deal. Such a development would have been utterly unthinkable this time last year.

Back then, Fabinho was untouchable, arguably Liverpool's most important player from a tactical perspective. He was one of the driving forces behind the quadruple bid, illustrating precisely why Klopp nicknamed him 'Dyson' for the way in which he hoovers up loose balls in the middle of the park.

At the time, he was arguably the best player in the world in his particular position. The far more attack-minded Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric were the only midfielders to finish ahead of him in the 2022 Ballon d'Or vote - which is seriously impressive given how much of Fabinho's work goes under the radar.

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Focus on helping others improve
He's long been aware of that too. He knows how modern football fans view the game. "The younger fans will always pay greater attention to the ones who score goals, since scoring goals is the best thing about football," he told UEFA's official website last year. "But I focus on how I can help those players improve their statistics: to score more goals and provide more assists."
However, while Fabinho's sustained excellence may have gone unnoticed for far too long, his dramatic dip in form most certainly did not. It was immediately obvious precisely because Fabinho's underappreciated talents were so integral to Liverpool's game.
With Fabinho seemingly suffering more than most from the mental and physical strain of the exhausting 2021-22 season, the Reds unravelled. The Brazilian wasn't just failing to win as many balls as before, he was also losing far more than usual. Everybody suffered as a consequence. The back four was brutally exposed, the service to the forward line faltered.
The man charged with controlling what Lijnders called the "organised chaos" inherent in Klopp's footballing philosophy was either fatigued or finished. Either way, the consequences were catastrophic for Klopp.
As Neil Jones wrote on GOAL, "without their lighthouse, Liverpool looked lost", winning just four of their first 12 Premier League games. The team that had come within two wins of a quadruple were out of the title race by the end of October.

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A steep and sharp decline
Fabinho improved in the second half of a trying season - just like Liverpool, hammering home just how the midfielder's form was intrinsically tied to that of his team. But the damage, it seems, had already been done.
Liverpool were always going to overhaul their engine room this summer. In truth, it should have been done last year, but the belief was they could survive another season before going all-in to sign Jude Bellingham, among others.
That gamble backfired badly, though. Not only did they have to admit defeat in their Bellingham bid before the 2022-23 campaign was even out, Liverpool's faith in Fabinho also proved horribly misplaced.
In fairness, while the need to give up on the perma-crocked Naby Keita had been obvious for years, nobody at Anfield could have foreseen Fabinho's sudden fall from grace. Indeed, it's rare that a world-class player suffers such a steep and sharp decline.
What's even more shocking, though, is that Liverpool clearly believe it's terminal - why else would they even consider selling Fabinho, one of the most experienced members of the squad?
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From integral to expendable
The news that Liverpool were open to letting captain Jordan Henderson leave was surprising enough, but one could at least understand why the club would be open to cashing in on a 33-year-old who has fallen down the pecking order following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The assumption was, though, that unless Southampton lowered their asking price for Romeo Lavia, Fabinho would start the season as Liverpool's first-choice No.6. Instead, he's heading for the exit door.
His departure will of course be lamented. Liverpool simply wouldn't have become 'champions of everything' without Fabinho, the midfield fulcrum that infamously struggled to get to grips with Klopp's style of play before becoming absolutely fundamental to its functionality.
Fabinho was also a fan favourite because he proved as classy off the field as he was on it, a humble but warm character adored by everyone at Anfield. But Klopp and the club decided that the offer from Al-Ittihad was too good to refuse for a 29-year-old who had incredibly gone from integral to expendable in the space of a season.
Consequently, Liverpool are on the look-out for a new lighthouse. Finding one as effective as Fabinho will not be easy.

Focus on helping others improve

A steep and sharp decline

From integral to expendable