Now we know what Liverpool put on their player contracts for those photo ops.
Understandably, the pieces of paper that we see in front of new arrivals at official unveilings aren’t the real contracts because those are signed behind closed doors with agents and club representatives present.
Some eagle-eyed supporters have now figured out what Liverpool use for their signings after the Merseyside club pulled off the impressive coup of adding versatile Brazil international Fabinho to their ranks this week.
Fabinho was confirmed as the Reds’ newest addition after agreeing to the £39.3 million move from Monaco on Monday.
And when he was photographed in a Liverpool shirt for the first time, fans zoomed in to work out what exactly the 24-year-old was signing.
While a club badge, a header which reads ‘Player Contract Agreement’ and bullet points were added to the paper, the content is actually just a news piece which covered manager Jurgen Klopp’s quotes on last weekend’s Champions League final.
It begins: “Jurgen Klopp looked ahead to Saturday’s Champions League final with Real Madrid and declared: ‘We are here because we are Liverpool.'”
So it would seem that the club just uses news articles to make it look like players are signing detailed contracts because, to be fair, it looks better than just putting a blank piece of paper in front of them.
Manchester United were believed to be very keen on Fabinho but Liverpool beat them to his signature and Klopp is thrilled about the acquisition.
“We have signed a fantastic player, but someone who is an equally fantastic person I think,” the manager explained to Liverpoolfc.com.
“His reputation as a character in the dressing room and his attitude in training has come through from everyone we speak to.
“He has a lovely family also – adding a person like this to our dressing room only makes us even stronger. What we have – in terms of our environment at Melwood and in the team – means anyone coming in must be of that build. They must be the highest quality person and player.
“He has ability and mentality to play at the highest level in a number of positions. He can play ‘6’, ‘8’ and ‘2’. This is cool.
“He is tactically very strong and football smart. I think he improves our squad and there aren’t that many players you can say that about in this moment, because the quality we have already is so high.
“I like that he is young yet experienced also, with a high number of games at a club that compete to win. Also, international caps for Brazil tells you something about him.
“This signing gives us new opportunities and for that I am excited. I’m sure our supporters will make him very welcome and at home at our wonderful club and in our amazing city.”
