Barcelona are considering a move to sign Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino on a free transfer next summer.
Firmino is out of contract in June, with an eight-year stay at Anfield currently set to come to end. As the 31-year-old considers his next move, The Daily Mail claim that Barca are one of the clubs sniffing around the Liverpool man.
They reportedly aren’t the only top European club interested either. Bobby is said to have ‘piqued the interest’ of Juventus and Atletico Madrid, as well as Barcelona. Firmino’s boyhood club Sao Paulo are claimed to be in the running too.
However, there’s good news for Reds fans – Firmino reportedly wants to stay. Yes, the Brazil star is said to be ‘leaning towards’ signing a new contract at Liverpool. Despite the interest, and ‘offers on the table’ from Saudi Arabia, Bobby reportedly favours an extension on Merseyside.
All over to you, Bobby
This is something that we can perhaps now expect to move a little quicker than it has been.
From past experience we’ve come to learn that when a player gets down to his last six months at Liverpool, he usually ends up leaving.
Think Emre Can, Gini Wijnaldum, Dejan Lovren. All three of those players could arguably have been kept on for a little longer than they were. But with terms unable to be agreed, all left for nothing.
So, maybe we should expect the same with Firmino? Well, the key difference here appears to be that Liverpool are waiting on Firmino, not the other way around.
As far as Jurgen Klopp is concerned, he wants Bobby to stay. There is little suggestion that there would be too many problems agreeing to new terms, so the decision looks like it now rests solely with the player.
With so many interested clubs, there is a decision to make for Firmino. Now thirty-one, his playing time will perhaps start to slow down.
But playing for Klopp, he knows he has a manager who believes in him. Even now, when Bobby is fit he tends to play. Injury is the only thing to have consistently kept him out of the Liverpool team since his £29m arrival in 2015.
That may change moving forward, but there’s no guarantee of game time at the likes of Barcelona either. Sometimes it’s best just to stay where you are. Firmino will forever be a Liverpool legend for what he has achieved at the club. Stay for another few years, and he could become immortal.
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