Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira was born on 2 October 1991 in Maceió, the capital of the Brazilian state of Alagoas, and grew up in the Trapiche da Barra neighbourhood. He is a forward who moves between centre-forward and attacking midfield. He came through the youth ranks at CRB from 2004 to 2008 and finished his development at Figueirense, in Santa Catarina. He built his career in Germany and England, winning the Champions League and the Premier League with Liverpool, and has played in the Gulf since 2023.
From CRB to Figueirense
He joined Figueirense’s academy in 2008 after four years at CRB. His professional debut came on 24 October 2009, when he came on at half-time in a 2–1 home defeat to Ponte Preta in Série B. He played 38 games for the club and scored 8 goals. His form caught Hoffenheim’s attention, and they completed his signing in December 2010.
Four and a half years at Hoffenheim
Firmino arrived in Germany on 1 January 2011. At Hoffenheim he played mostly as an attacking midfielder or second striker and gradually became a regular starter. His best season was 2013–14: he scored 16 goals in 33 Bundesliga games and was named the league’s Breakthrough of the Season. In July 2013 the club had turned down a reported €12 million bid from Lokomotiv Moscow. He left Germany with 153 appearances and 49 goals for Hoffenheim, 38 of them in the Bundesliga.
Liverpool: eight seasons at Anfield
Liverpool agreed terms with Hoffenheim on 23 June 2015 for a fee of up to £29 million, and the deal was completed on 4 July. He made his debut on 9 August 2015 against Stoke City. Under Brendan Rodgers he started on the left wing. After Jürgen Klopp took over in October that year, Firmino moved to centre-forward, usually as a false nine alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané. Klopp called him the team’s “engine”.
The trophies came from 2019 onwards. Liverpool won the 2018–19 Champions League, a year after losing the final, and added the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup that year. In the Club World Cup final he scored the extra-time winner in a 1–0 victory over Flamengo. The Premier League followed in 2019–20, the club’s first league title since 1990. In 2021–22 Liverpool won the FA Cup and the League Cup, and in 2022 they added the Community Shield. Firmino left Anfield in 2023 after 362 games and 111 goals. His 82 Premier League goals are the most by a Brazilian in the competition.
Brazil national team
He made his Brazil debut on 12 November 2014 in a 4–0 win over Turkey. Six days later he scored his first goal, in a 2–1 win over Austria in Vienna. He played at the 2015 Copa América and was picked for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. There he scored Brazil’s second goal in a 2–0 round-of-16 win over Mexico. In 2019 he started the Copa América final, which Brazil won 3–1 against Peru at the Maracanã, and in 2021 he was a runner-up in the same tournament. Between 2014 and 2021 he won 55 caps and scored 17 goals.
Playing style
Firmino was more of a link player than a pure goalscorer. He was known for dropping deep to receive the ball, opening space for the wide forwards and pressing opponents as they tried to play out from the back. From 2020–21 Klopp also used him as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. Back-heels were a regular part of his game.
Al-Ahli and Al Sadd
On 4 July 2023 he joined Saudi club Al-Ahli on a free transfer after his time at Liverpool ended. In 2024–25 the Jeddah club won the AFC Champions League Elite, with the final played on 3 May 2025, and Firmino was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He made 65 appearances for Al-Ahli and scored 21 goals. In July 2025 he moved to Al Sadd in Qatar. In his first season there, under Roberto Mancini, the club won the 2025–26 Qatar Stars League. They clinched the title on 27 April 2026 with a 3–2 win over Al Shamal.
Al SaddMidfielderMarket value €268.8K