Opinion - Fabinho continues to go from strength-to-strength

Back in the summer of 2018, Liverpool signed holding midfielder Fabinho from Monaco for a transfer fee of £40.50 million.

At the time, we were aware that the club had signed a good player.

Fabinho was a terrific servant for Monaco after all. The Brazil international, who made 233 appearances for the club's first-team, helped them topple powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain during the 2016-17 La Liga campaign.

But, Fabinho did somewhat go under the radar at Monaco. If we are being honest, the 28-year-old has surpassed our expectations.

Since signing for Liverpool, Fabinho has made 166 appearances for the club's first-team. He has also helped the Reds win the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Premier League title and League Cup.

With Fabinho being a holding midfield player, he ultimately does all the hard yards, which allows the attacking players to thrive.

Back in 2019, former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville said that Fabinho was the best defensive midfielder around.

As quoted by This Is Anfield, he told Sky Sports the following: “I think Fabinho at the moment is the best.

“Because what Fabinho does, actually, he doesn’t sit back in games—these holding midfield players who play horizontally, passes sideways and shift that way when they’re shuttling across.

“Fabinho plays vertically as well, he goes forward with his passes, he moves forward and steps in and wins the ball back.

“I think the best holding midfield players aren’t just people who just shuffle across and make it look simple, they also step into the game as well."

The aforementioned comments highlight just how well Fabinho has performed at certain stages throughout his Liverpool career.

If anything, the Brazilian has gone to another level this season. Fabinho is still very strong defensively, but he is now scoring more goals.

He has found the back of the net eight times in 44 appearances this season. The 2021-22 campaign is Fabinho's most productive in front of goal during his time as a Red.

In fact, Fabinho scored a very important goal against Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica last Tuesday night (Champions League semi-final, second leg). The La Liga side had got themselves level on aggregate heading into half-time.

However, Fabinho scored directly after the break to put the Reds back on track. Liverpool ended up progressing 5-2 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid in the final.

Fabinho had the following to say post-game.

"I think they gave everything (in the) first-half, we knew the first 15-20 minutes would be important in this game but they scored early and gained confidence," he told BT Sport, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

"The fans felt it and they supported them. It was a hard (in the) first-half for us, maybe the hardest all season. As a big team, you have to prepare for everything and try to play football. After half-time we controlled the game, scored three goals and now we are in the final."

The exciting thing about Fabinho is that he is only 28 years of age. He still has plenty of time left in his career. Fabinho is contracted at Anfield until June 2026.

The Brazilian is arguably already a legend of the club. However, there is no denying that Fabinho has the opportunity to add to his legacy in the coming years.

On another note, we do believe that Liverpool will struggle to replace the holding midfielder down the line.

Players like Fabinho don't come around everyday. Therefore, we advise the Anfield faithful to enjoy Fabinho whilst he is a Red.