On 14th July 2023, Liverpool football club received a £40 million bid from Saudi Arabian football club Al-Ittihad for Brazil midfielder Fabinho. Fabinho has been pulled out of Liverpool's squad for their training camp in Germany following a "serious offer" for the midfielder. Al-Ittihad, one of four Saudi Arabian teams owned by the country's Public Investment Fund, has made a £40 million proposal for the Brazil international.
Fabinho did not fly to Germany with the rest of the squad for a training camp, and conversations about his future are ongoing.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who has also been linked to a rumoured £700,000-a-week offer from Al-Ettifaq - managed by former colleague Steven Gerrard - has flown with the squad since no bid has been made for him. Al-Ettifaq are reportedly proposing £10 million for the England international, but Liverpool value the long-serving midfielder at over £20 million.
Henderson, who has two years left on his contract, is now training with the Liverpool team in Germany, and the Reds have yet to receive a bid for the 33-year-old.
With Fabinho likely to leave, Liverpool has been weighing their options, including a bid for Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia. However, Fabinho's departure would necessitate the signing of a player with a comparable playing style and more Premier League experience.
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has signed a two-year contract with his boyhood club Cardiff. Ramsey, who made 22 appearances for the Bluebirds as a teenager and six more on loan from Arsenal in 2011, is the club's youngest player ever.
Al-Ittihad Football Club
Al-Ittihad is a Saudi Arabian football club formed in 1927 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al-Ittihad matches are held at Jeddah's main stadium, King Abdullah Sports City, which is Saudi Arabia's second-largest stadium.
Al-Ittihad is the most successful Asian club, having won the AFC Champions League twice in a succession, the Asian Cup Winners' Cup once, the GCC Champions League once, and the Arab Champions League once.
It is the oldest athletic club still in existence in Saudi Arabia, having been founded in 1927. The club's most successful time was the 1990s and 2000s, when it won a huge number of trophies and achievements domestically, regionally, and even globally, culminating in the club finishing fourth in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. They will also host the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
