FABINHO’s £40million move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad could be under threat due to his pet dogs.
The bizarre hitch in the transfer comes after it emerged that French bulldgogs are banned in Saudi Arabia.
Fabinho and his wife have two French bulldogs and the midfielder would like to have clarity on whether he can bring his two beloved pets into the country before completing a move.
A leaked Saudi Arabian document circulating on Twitter suggested that the breed is banned in the country due to being on a list of “dangerous and aggressive” dogs.
The list can be circumvented however if the dogs are to be used for hunting, serving as a guard dog or if they are seeing dogs for the blind.
Fabinho is understood to be willing to walk away from the deal if his dogs are not allowed to come with him to Saudi – with reports that the deal is on the brink of collapse due to the unusual issue.
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This comes after Al-Ittihad offered Fabinho £425,000-a-week to join the club.
The midfielder’s current contract at Liverpool sees him earn £180k-a-week.
Al-Ittihad are keen to press on with a deal – and were in London this weekend to find an agreement between all parties.
If an allowance for the dogs is permitted, Fabinho would be the latest high-profile star to join Al-Ittihad.
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The Saudi champions have so far added Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante to their squad.
They also secured the signing of Celtic star Jota last month.
Fabinho would represent another coup for the club – with the midfielder having won the Champions League, league title, Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his time at Liverpool.
Fabinho would be joined by Jordan Henderson in swapping Liverpool for Saudi – with the Reds undergoing an unexpected midfield overhaul after receiving lucrative offers from the Saudi League.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
