Liverpool face Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight, with several players who have represented both clubs throughout their illustrious history in attendance. The Reds welcome the Spanish giants to Anfield for their fifth game in the competition’s league stage, having been the only club this season to maintain a 100% record so far.
The last time Liverpool faced Madrid was in the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 season, where the Reds lost 6-2 on aggregate, including a 5-2 defeat at Anfield. One of the players who featured in that game for the Reds was Fabinho, who has a history with both clubs.
Fabinho has played five times for Liverpool against Madrid, including the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, and has 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 spell at Real Madrid.
During his time at Rio Ave in Portugal, the midfielder joined Madrid on loan for the 2012/13 season. He was mainly recruited 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 brief 14-minute spell in May 2013 against Malaga in La Liga, where he played at right-back in a 6-2 win. Almost a decade later, Fabinho explained how his move to Madrid came about, including an article about a meeting with José Mourinho. “We arrived in Portugal, but I was only in Rio Ave for two weeks, maybe three at most,” Fabinho told FourFourTwo in March 2022.
“I was having a barbecue with some other Brazilians, then my agent called me to say that Real Madrid Castilla [Real Madrid’s reserve team] needed a right-back and wanted to know if I was interested.
“Then one evening Lucio [Fabinho’s agent at the time] came and told me to pack my bags because Jorge Mendes was driving in the early hours of the morning.
“I was like, ‘Is something wrong?’ No one said a word, but at one point in the car Mendes said we were going to Madrid and I signed for them.
“I called my mother in Brazil to tell her and she started crying. No one expected such a big thing to happen in such a short time. It was a very special moment for me.”
Fabinho added: “We went to the hotel in Madrid and while I was still sleeping, I woke up when someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole and I didn’t see. I think it was Mendes and [the former manager of Real Madrid. ] José Mourinho!
“I was still in my pajamas, not at all prepared to meet him, I didn’t even know what to say. He wanted to welcome me. I was always a bit shy and I never thought I would meet him like this!”
Fabinho made 233 appearances for Liverpool over five years after signing from Monaco in the summer of 2018. He eventually left the Reds last year to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad in a £40m deal.
