Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group once put a bizarre anti-Arsenal clause into the contract of one of their biggest stars for one specific reason.
On Tuesday, Arsenal shocked the footballing world after reportedly completing the surprise signing of long-term Liverpool midfield target Martin Zubimendi.
It’s not the first time that the two clubs have battled over the signing of a massive player, with several transfer sagas involving both sides turning into a bitter feud.
However, there is one transfer battle that stands out amongst the others as the one that caused the most bad-blood, after it led to Liverpool including an anti-Arsenal clause in the contract of one of their stars.
In 2013, Arsenal submitted a then club-record bid of £40million plus £1 for Liverpool star forward Luis Suarez, hoping to establish their clear intention to sign the striker.
Infuriated by the price, Liverpool immediately declined the bid, with owner John W. Henry reacting to the offer with a now infamous social media post, writing: “What do you think they’re smoking over there at the Emirates?”
Arsenal’s decision to bid such a specific amount was due to a clause included in Suarez’s contract which stated that Liverpool must inform the goalscorer of a club’s interest once they received a bid of more than £40m.
Therefore, FSG made sure that they would never make a similar mistake when it came to Arsenal and so decided to include a specific ‘anti-Arsenal’ clause in the contract of club legend Roberto Firmino when he joined in July 2015.
The Brazilian came to Liverpool from Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for a reported fee of £21.3m, signing a five-year deal that included a £83 million release clause that could be triggered by any club, EXCEPT Arsenal.
Instead, if Arsenal ever wanted to bring Firmino to the club, they would have to negotiate a transfer fee with Liverpool directly and, given the success Firmino enjoyed at Anfield, it’s almost certain this would have been significantly more than the £83 release clause.
Firmino scored 111 goals and registered 75 assists in 362 appearances for Liverpool, winning seven trophies including the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
