Firmino intends to end his career strongly at Liverpool

Brazilian Roberto Firmino plans to leave Liverpool after eight seasons at the club. But coach Juergen Klopp says there will be time for goodbyes later.

The 31-year-old striker recently told Klopp that he will not be part of Liverpool after this season, while promising that he is fully focused on pushing the team to a strong finish.

"He is here and fully committed, as everyone can imagine. And that's all we need to know," Klopp told a press conference on Friday. "There's no time for a bye or anything at the moment, there's plenty of time for that later in the season."

Liverpool can move closer to their goal of finishing in the Premier League's top four when they visit bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth on Saturday. Liverpool have recorded four wins in their current five-game unbeaten run in the league and have climbed to fifth in the table, just three points behind Tottenham.

Firmino set the final score with the goal he scored in Liverpool's deep 7:0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield Road last Sunday.

"I liked his game and the pace he had when he came on against United. "Roberto is a fantastic and attacking player that every team wants to have in their ranks," said Klopp. "However, this is his decision to leave and we must respect it, despite the fact that we tried to convince him to renew the contract."

The Brazil international has scored 108 goals in more than 350 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool and was part of the England team's devastating attacking trio alongside Senegalese Sadio Mane and Egyptian Mohamed Salah. Mane left Liverpool last summer to join Bayern Munich, while Salah is still at the club and Liverpool's top scorer.

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"Sadio, Bobby and Mo were for a long time one of the best attacking trios in world football," said Klopp. "They were simply unstoppable and I am proud to have coached this trio."

Firmino helped Liverpool win the Champions League trophy in the 2018/19 season, as well as the Premier League title a season later. Firmino has had to compete for a starting spot this season with Liverpool's young strikers including Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. Klopp admitted he was "a bit" surprised by Firmino's decision to leave, but added it was "completely normal in this kind of long relationship we have".

Firmino joined Liverpool in the summer of 2015 from Hoffenheim for 41 million euros, while he has been playing in European football since the beginning of 2011. He spent over four seasons at Hoffenheim, a team he joined from little-known Brazilian side Tombense before to make the big move in his career to Liverpool. Firmino also has 55 appearances and 17 goals scored with the Brazilian National Team.