Roberto Firmino has £82m release clause but one club aren't allowed to trigger it

Liverpool star Roberto Firmino has had to watch his details get carried away by the latest wave of Football Leaks. The Brazilian forward’s release clause was made public, something that was especially intriguing. Why? Because the clause allegedly specifies that one club is not allowed to trigger it.

That club is (drum roll please) Arsenal. We doubt that Arsene Wenger has £82 million ready to spend on a signing but just in case Liverpool have blocked such a scenario. So the big question is why. One can only imagine that it has something to do with Arsenal’s infamous attempt to sign Luis Suarez in 2013.

Wenger attempted to buy the Uruguayan and, believing that he had a £40m release clause, bid a pound over that figure. Liverpool only had to inform Suarez about the bid, laughed off the cheeky attempt and would go on to sell their star to Barcelona a year later for £75m.

Firmino has been a hit at Liverpool since a £29m transfer from Hoffenheim in the summer of 2015. His link-up play with forward players like Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane has been particularly outstanding. There will definitely be at least one club tempted by his release clause.

#footballeaks in @Lesoir:
? Firmino has a €98m clause that can't be triggered by #AFC
? Atlético get 250k every time Agüero scores 15 goals. pic.twitter.com/nUbKOICUt9

— Kristof Terreur ? (@HLNinEngeland) December 5, 2016