Al-Ahli will hope Firmino leads club to rightful place among Saudi’s elite

A few months ago, the prospect of Roberto Firmino swapping the famous red shirt of Liverpool for the green of Al-Ahli would have been laughed off. After all, the Brazilian was, and is, a legend at Anfield.

His eight years at the six-time European champions saw 362 games, 111 goals and seven trophies, including the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. 

At the same time, Al-Ahli were in the second tier after a shock relegation.

Fortunately, the Jeddah giants bounced straight back and are now preparing for a hugely exciting return to the big time.

The club, still without a coach after the departure of Pitso Mosimane, now have Edouard Mendy in goal after the Senegalese shot-stopper arrived from Chelsea in the last week of June. And now they have the Brazilian, long affectionately known as “Bobby” by Liverpool fans. It is another major coup for the league and especially for Al-Ahli who really are now back in the big time.

Firmino, who has signed a three-year deal, is a skillful, wily player who creates goals and scores them. A hard worker who can play in a variety of positions in attack, he is a dream for any coach and for his teammates and surely he will be missed next season by a certain Mohamed Salah in England, though the Egyptian has also been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Liverpool fans will now be able to see Firmino in action as well as other Anfield legends Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler coaching in the country.

It is another example of top-class talent coming to Saudi Arabia from the English Premier League, regarded by most as the best in the world. Just a few weeks ago, he was scoring goals in front of the Kop and now he is preparing to take Al-Ahli back into