Bobby Firmino will forever be adored by Liverpool fans who got to witness him in action at Anfield between 2015 and 2023, but he isn’t feeling anywhere near the same love from his current club.
There were emotional scenes on Merseyside when he bade farewell to Kopites nearly two years ago, with a clear mutual admiration between him and the fan base.
However, despite being named captain at Al-Ahli and netting a respectable tally of nine goals in 25 games so far this season, the 33-year-old has been the victim of a ruthless snub from his manager.
Firmino reacts after Al-Ahli squad snub
As per Liverpool Echo, Firmino has been excluded from the Jeddah club’s Saudi Pro League squad by Matthias Jaissle, who’s sacrificed the Kop favourite in order to make way for new signing Galeno among the 10 overseas players permitted for the division.
Our former no.9 will now find his on-field involvement limited to the AFC Champions League Elite, in which he’ll play a maximum of eight matches depending on Al-Ahli’s fortunes in the tournament.
In light of those events, the Brazilian shared a cryptic message to his Instagram story in which the devout Christian – who’s also a pastor at an evangelical church in his homeland – quoted a Bible verse.
Firmino posted the words: “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44).”
Firmino axe seems most peculiar
Only the ex-Liverpool striker will be able to verify exactly what he means by that social media post, and whether or not it’s in relation to what’s happened to him at Al-Ahli, but the timing of those words being shared is noteworthy in light of recent events.
Even with a cap on the number of overseas players for Saudi Pro League squads, it seems quite surprising that Jaissle would jettison someone who’s not only club captain, but has won the biggest prizes in European football and starred at one of the world’s best teams under Jurgen Klopp.
Firmino’s side are guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League Elite, and similar to its European equivalent, their strong position in the league phase has them on course for a theoretically favourable route for the remainder of the tournament.
That means Al-Ahli could plausibly go far in the competition, giving the 33-year-old some bit of scope to make his mark for the team, but nobody could blame him if he feels scorned by his shock omission from domestic action.
Our message to Bobby is that, whatever happens in Saudi Arabia, he’ll always be hero-worshipped back in Liverpool!
