Roberto Firmino to leave Liverpool at end of the season

The Brazilian will leave Anfield in the summer after playing a key role in the club’s success under Jurgen Klopp

Roberto Firmino will leave Liverpool on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer.

The Brazilian has decided to bring his eight-year stay at Anfield to a close rather than looking for a new deal.

He had been in talks with Liverpool about an extension, with Jurgen Klopp hoping to keep the forward who had been a key part in his success, but Firmino informed the manager he will instead opt to go elsewhere.

Firmino will turn 32 in October and could have been the sixth-choice forward had he stayed at Anfield as Klopp remodels his forward line. Since the start of 2022, Liverpool have bought Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo and given long-term contracts to Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota.

The Brazil international scored nine goals before the World Cup but was then injured and has only featured as a substitute since then.

Firmino joined from Hoffenheim for £29 million in 2015, a few months before Klopp’s appointment, and has gone on to score 107 goals in 353 games for Liverpool. He got 27 in 2017-18, his most prolific campaign.

The false nine formed a prolific forward line with Salah and Sadio Mane, with each scoring more than 100 goals for the club.

Firmino scored the winner in the Club World Cup final in 2019 and was a Premier League and Champions League winner. He appeared in three Champions League finals and also won the FA Cup and the European Super Cup.