Roberto Firmino could find himself reunited with a former Liverpool team-mate after becoming the latest high-profile player to move to the Saudi Pro League.
The Brazilian’s switch to Saudi Arabia, following the expiration of his Reds contract, was confirmed on Tuesday night. By making the move to the Gulf state, he follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, with Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Marcelo Brozovic also heading over this summer.
The 31-year-old has joined Al-Ahli, one of four Saudi Arabian clubs that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, who also own Newcastle United, took control of last month. The fact that they were a second division side last season evidently matters not.
With Mendy also joining Al-Ahli, signing from Chelsea last month, the latest reports suggest the Saudi club are already looking to complete their third high-profile signing of the summer with another familiar face the subject of their desires.
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Fabrizio Romano has reported that Al-Ahli are now looking to sign Sadio Mane from Bayern Munich, hoping to reunite with both his former Liverpool strike-partner and his fellow Senegal international.
Mane left Liverpool for Bayern last summer in a deal worth up to £35m, but is reportedly already deemed surplus to requirements in Bavaria following the appointment of new manager Thomas Tuchel. The 31-year-old ultimately struggled in Munich, scoring 12 goals from 38 appearances in all competitions, with 27 of his outings coming from the start, and only featured in the Bundesliga 25 times.
Admittedly, injury did not help as a leg problem which required surgery mid-season ruled him out for over three months and resulted in him missing the World Cup. Meanwhile, the Bundesliga title proved to Bayern’s only major piece of silverware, with Mane left as an unused substitute on the final day against Koln as a late strike from fellow substitute Jamal Musiala saw them crowned champions.
However, if Mane is indeed sold this summer, an altercation with team-mate Leroy Sane during Bayern’s Champions League defeat to Man City ultimately spelt the beginning of the end. The Senegalese left the German with a bloodied lip after allegedly punching him in the dressing room, and was fined £250k and handed a one-match suspension as punishment.
For the record, Mane has already said he is looking to stay at Bayern this summer. But reports linking him with an exit continue, while the Bavarians also push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.
If the forward was to leave Bayern, the thought of a reunion with Firmino is likely to bring a smile to many nostalgic Liverpool faces. Signing for the Reds in 2015 and 2016 respectively, the pair both won everything there was to win at Anfield, including both the Premier League and the Champions League, and returned a combined 231 goals and 110 assists from 631 appearances.
Forging two-thirds of Jurgen Klopp’s deadly triumvirate in attack, they were both untouchable alongside Mohamed Salah as the trio fired the Reds to English, European, and world glory and all cemented their status as Anfield legends.
It remains to be seen if Mane would really consider a move to Saudi Arabia, but his fondness for his former team-mate is well-known.
“I have seen many nice people in this business, but Bobby Firmino is by far and away my favourite one...he's my favourite team-mate," the 31-year-old said in LFC TV’s recent three-part series on the Brazilian.
"Bobby changed something about my football...he makes things easier, so you don’t have to do things more complicated. When you get the ball, Bobby is next to you and gives you an option...it helped me, and it helps the team.
"I don't see any chant more beautiful than Bobby's. Sometimes in my house, I'm there listening to it...I love it, it's so special. If you love the man as well, sometimes you just have to sing it. I can sing Bobby's song better than my own!"
Whether a reunion with his former team-mate is enough to tempt him, only time will tell. But reports suggest that Al-Ahli are rather taken with the prospect.
Which begs the question, if they reunite Firmino and Mane, could they have a future move for Salah to complete the set in their sights?
The Egyptian continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia himself, though, under contract until 2025, there is no suggestion of him departing Liverpool anytime soon. But it is clear that he would be a dream signing for the Saudi Pro League as the most high-profile Muslim player in world football.
“We must also start working on the signing of Mohamed Salah since he is overwhelmingly popular in the Arab world and in Europe,” Saudi football official Hafez Al-Medlej declared last month. “I think Salah still has records to break with Liverpool, so I hope that if he doesn’t come now, he will in the future.”
Having just returned yet another 30-goal season at Anfield, Salah is showing no sign of slowing down. Considering Mane’s struggles last year, along with Firmino’s sporadic injury woes after dropping down Klopp’s pecking order, it goes without saying that Liverpool made the right choice in terms of which one of the trio to retain into their twilight years.
The Egyptian became the highest-paid player in Reds history last summer, with his continued goals and assists return ensuring he pockets over £350k a week. While there will be a point when Liverpool want such terms off their wage bill, for now, while Salah continues to deliver in front of goal, they will have no desire to see his time with the club come to an end.
After all, Klopp has backed the forward to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, and continue at the highest level well into his mid-thirties.
"I've never spoken to Mo about how long he wants to play, but he has all the things you need to do that," Klopp said in September 2021. "He is more physically the type of Lionel Messi, obviously, similar height and weight, probably, so all these guys need to be lucky with the injuries.
"They were not without injuries but they could always come back from that without any further harm. That is very important. You need to be very lucky but Mo has all the things you need and I am pretty sure the way he sees football, he wants to be a part of the game for as long as he can, somehow.
"And there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to do that. It is about attitude, obviously, you want it. I am pretty sure a couple of players finished their careers because they couldn't be that motivated, they say 'I want this or I want that but I am not the same as I was a few years ago'. That is why people finish their careers.
"I can't see that with Mo, I am pretty sure Mo wants to squeeze each day out of his career as well, yes."
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic only just retiring at AC Milan at the age 41, Luka Modric and Lewandowski still going strong in La Liga, and Messi, Benzema, Ronaldo, and Luis Suarez all thriving in major European leagues well into their mid-30s prior to recent moves to Saudi Arabia, South America, and USA, there is no reason why Salah can’t continue to do the same for the Reds.
He certainly has the hunger too, as Klopp previously alluded to, suggesting a move to Saudi Arabia won’t be forthcoming just yet. He will only be 33 when his current contract at Liverpool expires, after all.
It remains to be seen if another extension will be on the agenda in the months ahead, but if Salah returns yet another 20-30+ goal season in 2023/24, you’d imagine Anfield officials would be keen to hold negotiations and sound out what the Egyptian wants to do next.
If he continues to deliver in front of goal and dreams of further Premier League and Champions League glory, then his Liverpool career continues. Otherwise, Saudi Arabian sides will surely come to tempt him.
And if Al-Ahli intend to partner Firmino, who signed a three-year contract with the club, with Mane once more this summer, the prospect of a future ‘dream’ reunion with the Reds’ Egyptian King could be even more tempting for the Saudi club. Their names will always go hand-in-hand with each other, after all, even if Father Time made it impossible for the trio to continue together forever at the highest stage.
Of course, no-one wants to wish away the final years of Salah's Anfield career ahead of following his former strike partners out the exit door. There are still plenty more goals to score and trophies to be won. But it seems pretty inevitable that sooner or later Saudi Arabia will come calling for the 31-year-old, with it then left to the forward to decide if and when he makes such a move.
The recent transfer activity in the Arab country isn’t without its controversy, and nostalgia isn’t enough to make onlookers turn the other way. But if Saudi Arabia is to be the new semi-retirement home for some of the planet’s greatest players, at least the prospect of one final ride for Salah x Firmino x Mane could be a fitting end, regardless of location, for three of Liverpool’s finest stars.
