ɾєρօɾτs thatFabinho’s dogs are holding up his £40m transfer to Al-Ittihad are not true, despite widespread speculation.
Fabinho’s move to the Saudi Pro League has been inching towards completion for several days now, with the 29-year-old Brazilian left out of Liverpool’s pre-season trip to Germany.
PIF-backed Al-Ittihad have submitted a £40m offer for the midfielder and he is expected to re-unite with former coach Nuno Espirito Santo in the Middle East.
However, since word of the bid arrived nearly two weeks ago, progress on the actual Ԁєɑł has been slow — leading to some wild speculation about the hold-up.
Widespread ɾєρօɾτs over the weekєɴԀ — apparently originating from a Twitter user’s screenshot of strict Saudi law around dog ownership — suggested Fabinho’s transfer could yet collapse because his pets (two French Bulldogs) wouldn’t be allowed into the country.
Meanwhile,Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenbergclaimed separately that Bayern Munich were monitoring Fabinho’s situation and could hijack a Ԁєɑł if anything were to go wrong with the Saudi Ԁєɑł.
However,Globo Esportenow ɾєρօɾτ that the dogs story is all bark and no bite.
The Brazilian outlet claims to have contacted Fabinho’s entourage who say the issue of whether dogs can enter Saudi Arabia is “not a concern and was never an obstacle in the transfer”.
In reality, the only thing holding up the transfer is unspecified (non-canine related) ‘bureaucratic details’.
As ɾєρօɾτed last week, Fabinho has already completed a medical with his new side and the only thing appearing to delay the move is the sanctioning and release of funds by the Saudi government.
Once Fabinho departs,Liverpoolare expected to ramp up their search for a successor with Romeo Lavia and Cheick Doucoure among the targets.
