Top 7 free transfers of all time – Liverpool
By David Gate
Number Three: Fabio Aurelio
He is often a forgotten man in our recalling of important Liverpool players but Fabio Aurelio deserves his place in the top three. Despite having numerous injuries at Liverpool he made 134 appearances for the Reds, the most of any free transfer. Perhaps we tend to forget him because he was never a star at the time. Playing alongside Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt we don’t tend to think of him as one of our best imports.
Fabio Aurelio was the first Brazilian to play for Liverpool after signing from Valencia in 2006. He was well known to Rafa Benitez as the left back for both the Spaniard’s La Liga titles at Valencia. More known for his stereotypical Brazilian technical attributes he was also a solid defender. Not blessed with immense pace or strength he made up for that with great positional sense and tactical awareness.
His best moment for Liverpool was against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2009. He scored a sumptuous free kick in the second half to give Liverpool a 3-1 lead. That goal took us beyond United’s reach. The 4-1 victory is one of Liverpool’s best performances in the Premier League era and was vital in turning a good run into a title challenge.
Perhaps Liverpool’s most technically proficient left back, we were robbed of seeing more of him through injuries. During his time at Liverpool his left back competitors were Emiliano Insua, Andrea Dossena and Paul Konchesky. He was lightyears ahead of that uninspiring trio. I am grateful for him and will continue to wax lyrical about our very first Brazilian.