Fabio Carvalho has recalled the honest advice that he was given by his then-manager Marco Silva prior to joining Liverpool in 2022.
The attacking midfielder signed for the Reds from Fulham four years ago and enjoyed a fairytale start to his career at Anfield, scoring a 98th-minute winner against Newcastle in one of his earliest appearances.
However, he was unable to establish himself in Jurgen Klopp’s line-up and had loan spells at RB Leipzig and Hull before making a permanent return to west London with Brentford in August 2024.
In an interview with Portuguese outlet A Bola about Silva – who recently left Fulham to take charge of Benfica – Carvalho remembered the wise words given to him by his former boss before his move to Liverpool.
The 23-year-old said (via Sport Witness): “When I was about to leave for Liverpool, he came to speak to me and I’ve never forgotten his words. He told me Liverpool was a great opportunity, but warned me that sometimes the grass isn’t as green as it seems.
“That really stayed with me. His honesty and the fact he continued to care about me, showing it wasn’t only about what happened on the pitch. That’s something I value a lot.”
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Unfortunately for Carvalho, his time with Brentford hasn’t been kind to him so far, with his father publicly advising him to ‘get out of’ the club after only three months, and the ex-Liverpool man then suffering a cruel ACL injury last November which brought a premature end to his season.
It’s a far cry from August 2022, when he was basking in the afterglow of that dramatic late winner against Newcastle and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him at Anfield, only to fall out of favour under Klopp.
Upon leaving the Reds two years ago, the player was forthright about his unwillingness to sit on the bench, and his departure for the Bees seemed amicable as the Merseyside club banked an initial £22.5m from his sale, plus another £5m in potential add-ons (BBC Sport).
Silva had Carvalho’s best interests at heart with his advice before leaving for Liverpool, although it was far too good an opportunity for the then-teenager to turn down at that age.
Hopefully the talented 23-year-old will make a full recovery from his ACL injury and go on to have a prosperous, fulfilling career, even if his time at Anfield didn’t quite work out as originally envisaged.
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