Brazil’s ever-smiling legend, Ronaldinho has claimed that Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino is in the same class as Mesut Ozil, David Silva and Andres Iniesta. The former Barcelona man urged Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to build his side around its Brazilian core, with special focus given to Firmino’s qualities.
Speaking to the Mirror, Ronaldinho made the astonishing claim that Firmino ranks among the world’s best No.10s, saying “I didn't ever question if he would be a great player for Liverpool, I knew that he would be. He's one of the best at what he does in the world. He's in the same class as Ozil, Silva, Iniesta, and all the other great players who play that role.”
Firmino has endured a sluggish start to his Liverpool career, but like many foreign imports who came before him, has starte to thrive after a 6 month settling-in period. The Liverpool forward has scored four goals in his last four games, and is gradully becoming the pivot around which Liverpool’s play is built.
Ronaldinho agrees with the sentiment that Firmino is Liverpool’s beating heart, saying “He's the player that I'm sure Klopp will build his new Liverpool team around.
Ronaldinho urges Klopp to make new signings
Firmino has occupied Liverpool’s striking role in the last few games, as Klopp has set up his side to play with a speedy forward. However, Christian Benteke has looked like a fish out of water in Klopp’s new system, and has only been used as an emergency option when Liverpool are chasing a game.
The Belgian has struggled to find the net in Liverpool’s shirt, which will cause Ronaldinho to question his quality as the Brazilian was earlier quoted as saying that any striker would thrive with Coutinho and Firmino behind him.
“It is a dream for the Liverpool strikers, to have that sort of service. If you can’t score goals in a team with Coutinho and Firmino in midfield then you wont score goals inany team. They will create so many chances.”
However, with Benteke misfiring, Ronaldinho urged Klopp to dip into the transfer market to make the most of Firmino’s undoubted quality, saying “Klopp is one of the best coaches in the world, he will know that Liverpool need better players, he will know that Firmino will need better players around him to get the most out of his game.”
“I'm sure when he joined Liverpool, Klopp was promised he could bring in his own players, and with Firmino at the centre of the team, there's no reason Liverpool cannot challenge once again.”
