Fabinho describes the story of how he signed for Real Madrid

It’s hard to remember now, but current Liverpool and Brazilian midfielder Fabinho once played for Real Madrid, though he never truly made it past the Castilla level apart from limited call-ups.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, the Brazilian described how Real Madrid signed him, and how quickly his journey from Brazil to Europe happened.

“I was having a barbecue with other Brazilians and then my agent called me to say that Real Madrid Castilla needed a right-back and wanted to know if I was interested,” Fabinho, who did play right-back before explained.

“Then one night, Lucio (his agent) came and told me to pack my bags because Jorge Mendes was coming by car at dawn. I was like, ‘Is something wrong?’ Nobody said a word, but then, at some point in the car, Mendes said that we were going to travel to Madrid and that I would sign for them. I called my mother in Brazil to tell her about it and she started crying.

“We went to the hotel in Madrid, and while I was sleeping, someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole and I couldn’t believe it. It was Mendes and José Mourinho! I was still in my pajamas, not quite ready to see them and I didn’t even know what to say. He wanted to welcome me. I was still a bit shy and I never thought I’d meet him like this!”

Fabinho left Real Madrid for AC Monaco in 2013 where he played with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva before moving to Liverpool and having a successful career.