Fabinho

Fabinho
Personal information
Date of Birth	23 October 1993
Place of Birth	Campinas, Brazil
Height	1.89 m (6'2")
Position	Midfielder
Liverpool statistics
Squad no.	3
Years	2018-
Appearances	66
Goals	2

Fábio Henrique Tavares (born 23 October 1993) is a Brazilian international footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool, signing from Monaco in 2018 for a fee of £39,300,000.

Liverpool career

With the midfield being widely regarded as the weakest part of the team, as well as the impending departure of Emre Can to Juventus, it was clear that Jurgen Klopp was looking to strengthen in this area. The signing of Naby Keita was already announced, but it was reported that he was also looking to strengthen the defensive side, with Jordan Henderson the only first-team player in this position.

On 28 May 2018, reports in France began to come through linking Fabinho with a move to Anfield, reports that were confirmed by club journalists hours later. In the evening, the club confirmed that a deal had been agreed to sign Fabinho from Monaco, and that the transfer would be formally completed on 1 July for an initial reported fee of £39,300,000.

On 7 July 2018, Fabinho made his non-competitive debut, starting in a 7-0 friendly win over Chester. The Brazilian wore the number 3 shirt, but the club stated this would not be his official shirt number. Despite this, it was later confirmed that he would wear the number 3 shirt for the 2018-19 season.

After failing to appear in the squad for the first few weeks of the season, on 18 September, Fabinho made his Liverpool debut as a late substitute in a 3-2 win over Paris Saint Germain. Just over a week later, the Brazilian made his first start, playing almost the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 cup defeat to Chelsea.

After a few more promising substitute appearances, Fabinho returned to the starting lineup on 24 October against Red Star Belgrade, putting in a man-of-the-match performance in a 4-0 win. Three days later, he made his first league start, playing 90 minutes in a 4-1 win over Cardiff.

On 16 December 2018, Fabinho started in a 3-1 win over Manchester United, assisting Sadio Mane’s opener with a sublime dinked ball over the top of the United defence. Five days later, the Brazilian once again created the Reds’ opening goal, this time with a grounded cross for Mohamed Salah to fire Liverpool ahead in a 2-0 win over Wolves. On 26 December, Fabinho came off the bench to head in his first goal for the club in a 4-0 victory over Newcastle at Anfield.

By the end of the season, Fabinho had arguably become Liverpool's most important midfielder, seen as a starter in almost every game, with pundits giving high praise for how he had adapted to playing his holding midfield role. On 1 June 2019, Fabinho started in the Champions League final, and played the full 90 minutes as the Reds beat Tottenham 2-0 in Madrid.

Fabinho kicked off the 2019-20 season in the Reds' first-choice XI, starting in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. On 10 November 2019, Fabinho fired in his first goal of the campaign, opening the scoring in a vital league victory over Manchester City, with a powerful strike from range, picking up the man-of-the-match award for his dominating performance.

Honours

Liverpool

• UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019)
• UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2019)

Stats

Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2018-19	28	1	1	0	1	0	11	0	0	0	41	1
2019-20	17	1	1	0	0	0	6	0	1	0	25	1
Total	45	2	2	0	1	0	17	0	1	0	66	2

External links

• Fabinho player profile at LFCHistory.net