The 24-year-old midfielder, a €50m arrival from Monaco, had spent the last five seasons in the French principality and made 233 appearances since 2013.

Fabinho helped Monaco to the Ligue 1 title and Champions League semi-finals in 2016/17, and joins Naby Keita in signing for Jurgen Klopp's Reds so far this summer – a straightforward call, the midfielder tells FourFourTwo.

Speaking in the August 2018 issue, out now, Fabinho says: "Yes, [it was] very easy. I was sad to leave Monaco, a club that gave me a lot of great moments, but in football sometimes you need new challenges and I thought it was time to move on.

"As soon as Liverpool declared their interest in signing me, it was a simple decision to make. A club with Liverpool’s history wants you? Come on, you just pack your bags and go. It will be an honour to wear the famous red shirt."

Fabinho had been linked with a switch to Premier League rivals Manchester United before that, but despite reports strongly linking him to Old Trafford, the Brazilian says it was never likely.

"I was never close to signing for Manchester United, no," he tells FFT. "I heard things said about it, but the truth is it was never a strong possibility. I won’t deny there were a few conversations about my situation with Monaco, but there was never an official offer from United."

Read the full interview with Fabinho in the August 2018 issue of FourFourTwo, in which we reveal David Beckham’s turbulent quest to be football’s first superstar owner, and look back to 1998 when he came Public Enemy No.1 following his red card at the World Cup. Also, we find out what Arsenal fans can expect from the four men filling Arsene Wenger’s sizeable shoes, go One-on-One with former Sweden star Tomas Brolin, recall the bonkers the story of Graeme Souness at Rangers, visit the London-based firm fighting match-fixing around the world, and hail some of the worst football teams ever. Subscribe to FFT today!

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