RIYADH: Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino became the latest high-profile player to complete a move to Saudi Arabia, signing for Al-Ahli on Tuesday after his contract with Premier League giants Liverpool expired.
The 31-year-old left Liverpool after eight seasons at Anfield, during which time he scored 111 goals in 362 appearances and won the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup.
His arrival at Al-Ahli was revealed by the club in a video posted to social media and comes less than a week after the team concluded a deal to sign Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Chelsea.
Backed by the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, the Saudi Pro League is luring big names from the major European leagues with the promise of huge salaries.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard took over as coach at Al-Ettifaq earlier in the week, while Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante have also made the move to the Gulf state since Cristiano Ronaldo’s switch to Al-Nassr in January started the trend.
