Liverpool are due to face Real Madrid in the Champions League this evening, with several players having represented both clubs across their illustrious histories. The Reds will host the Spanish giants at Anfield in their fifth league phase fixture of the competition, having been the only club across the season so far to maintain a 100 percent record.
The last time Liverpool face Madrid was in the quarter-final of the 2022/23 season, which saw the Reds lose 6-2 on aggregate, which included a 5-2 loss at Anfield. One player who featured in that game for the Reds was Fabinho, who has a history with both clubs.
Fabinho featured five times for Liverpool against Madrid, including the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, and lost four of those matches with the other being a goalless draw in 2021. Earlier in the Brazilian’s career, years before he won five major trophies with Liverpool including the Premier League and Champions League, Fabinho had a brief career with Madrid.
During Fabinho’s time with Rio Ave in Portugal, the midfielder joined Madrid on a loan deal for the 2012/13 season. He was signed predominantly to play for Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s ‘B’ team, but did make one appearance for the first team.
That one appearance came in a 14-minute cameo in May 2013 against Malaga in La Liga, where he played at right-back in a 6-2 win. Almost a decade later, Fabinho opened up on how the move to Madrid happened, which included a story on a meeting with Jose Mourinho.
“We arrived in Portugal, but I stayed around at Rio Ave for just two weeks, maybe three at the most,” Fabinho told FourFourTwo in March 2022.
“I had a barbecue with other Brazilians and then my agent called to say that Real Madrid Castilla [Real Madrid reserve team] needed a right-back and wanted to know if I was interested.
“Then one night, Lucio [Fabinho’s agent at the time], came and told me to pack my things because Jorge Mendes was on his way by car in the early hours of the morning.
“I was like, ‘Is something wrong?’ Nobody said a word, but then at some point in the car, Mendes said we were travelling to Madrid and that I would sign for them.
“I called my mum in Brazil to tell her about that and she started to cry. No one had expected something this huge to happen in such a short time. It was a very special moment for me.”
Fabinho added: “We headed to the hotel in Madrid, and while I was still sleeping, I woke up to somebody knocking on the door. I looked through the peephole and couldn’t believe it. It was Mendes and [former Real Madrid manager] Jose Mourinho!
“I was still wearing my pyjamas, not at all prepared to meet him. I didn’t even know what to say. He wanted to welcome me. I was still a bit shy and never thought I would meet him like that!”
Fabinho made 233 appearances for Liverpool across five years at the club after signing from Monaco in the summer of 2018. He eventually left the Reds last year to move to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad in a deal worth £40million.
