Roberto Firmino is headed to the Middle East…
The 31-year-old Brazilian professional footballer has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli as a free agent after his contract at Liverpool expired at the end of last season, it was announced Tuesday.
Firmino, a forward, has agreed a three-year deal with the Saudi team and joins former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at the Jeddah-based club.
The Brazil forward spent eight years at Anfield, scoring scoring 110 goals in 361 games.
Firmino won seven trophies with Liverpool including the Champions League in 2019 and the club’s first-ever Premier League title in 2020.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia have pursued an aggressive recruitment strategy in recent months, persuading some of the sport’s biggest names to sign lucrative deals with teams in the country — Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January and Karim Benzema left Real Madrid for Al Ittihad earlier this month.
Al Ahli won the Saudi First Division League title last season to achieve promotion back to the Saudi Pro League for the 2023-24 campaign.