Not Mo Salah, Former Goalkeeper Names $40M Star As Liverpool FC's 'MVP'

Roberto Firmino is "Liverpool’s Most Valuable Player (MVP)," according to Lutz Pfannenstiel, who first scouted the Brazilian playmaker for German club Hoffenheim.

After spending five seasons at Hoffenheim, Firmino moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2015 for a reported fee of $40 million. He was later joined by Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah as the three formed one of the formidable attacks in European soccer, helping the Reds become the champions of Europe, the world, and finally England.

The trio played a crucial role in Liverpool’s Premier League triumph in the 2019-20 season, which was their first league title in 30 long years.

In 277 competitive matches for Liverpool, Firmino has scored 84 goals in comparison to Salah’s 117 goals in 185 matches and Mane’s 91 goals in 199 games. Because of these numbers, Firmino’s role tends to get diminished, but Pfannenstiel believes it is Firmino, who is the most important of the three in Liverpool’s front line.

"Everyone talks about Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. But from my point of view, Roberto is Liverpool's MVP. He is the one who runs the most, creates the spaces, and creates a lot of chances. He sort of lets the other two shine. That's rewarded within his team, but for me, it sometimes gets short shrift in the coverage," Pfannenstiel was quoted by Goal, as saying.

Pfannenstiel has also mentioned Jurgen Klopp taking over Liverpool’s charge has turned out to be the best for Firmino, who “knows exactly what the coach expects from him,” as reported by German publication Dazn News.

"Klopp taking over at Liverpool was the best thing that could have happened from Roberto's point of view. He knows exactly what the coach expects from him: Disciplined pressing, high, aggressive tackling. That's exactly what he learned at Hoffenheim, he knew it inside out and it's a kind of automatism for him. So, Klopp's way of playing fits like a glove," added Pfannenstiel, who was a goalkeeper during his playing days.

During Liverpool’s FIFA Club World Cup win in December 2019, Firmino had struck the winner in the semi-final before scoring the lone goal in the final to hand the Reds their maiden Club World Cup trophy.

"It wasn't so easy at the beginning; the game was very fast and very physical. But his regular extra shifts in training helped him adapt quickly. Because of his great basic tactical understanding, he understood incredibly quickly how he had to work against the ball. Roberto has always played Brazilian but thought German. The mixture of these two mentalities also makes him a difference-making player now at Liverpool," Pfannenstiel further said.

In the ongoing campaign, Firmino may have scored only six goals in as many as 33 competitive appearances, but he has also made seven crucial assists.