Former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel has described the fee that Liverpool paid Hoffenheim for the Brazilian international Roberto Firmino as “brutal”.
The Reds reportedly paid around £21.5m for the attacking midfielder, but that could rise to £29m if various add-on clauses are met.
Babbel, who managed Hoffenheim for a spell between February and Decemeber in 2012, thinks the high fee could put added pressure on Firmino.
Speaking to German publication Bild, he said:
“[The fee] is brutal. When I heard that I flinched, because even for Liverpool that is not chicken feed. He is under a certain pressure with this weight on his shoulders.”
Despite his reservations about the transfer fee, Babbel, who played 72 times for Liverpool between 2000 and 2003, is still a fan of Firmino and is confident that he can adapt to life in English football:
“[Roberto] is an atypical Brazilian, more German than many Germans. Roberto is disciplined, has enormous assertiveness.”
A criticism that is often labelled at foreign imports to the Premier League is that they can dive, or make the most out of any contact. However Babbel believes that this will not be an issue for Liverpool’s newest South American recruit:
“Roberto does not complain when he is fouled. He is not an actor, he stands up again. That is beneficial in England, because that is what English fans like to see.”
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