Fabio Carvalho is facing a new storm at Brentford as, three months after his move from Liverpool, his father has told him “you have to leave this club.”
Carvalho’s time at Liverpool came to an end in August when he completed a £27.5 million move to Brentford, but he has struggled for starts since.
In his three months under Thomas Frank so far, Carvalho has made 14 appearances but only started five times, with just two of those coming in the Premier League.
He has only played 284 minutes in the league, averaging 25.8 minutes per outing, and for the first time this season he went unused entirely in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Everton.
And replying to an Instagram post from Brentford following that stalemate, Carvalho’s father and agent, Victor, wrote: “Son, you have to leave this club.”
The comment, which was written in Portuguese, has since been deleted.
Whether it will lead to any backlash for Carvalho remains to be seen, but it appears to follow a pattern of issues for the 22-year-old.
He faced question marks over his attitude on a number of occasions during his time at Liverpool, including another comment on Instagram back in 2023.
At the time, with the midfielder rarely featuring for Jurgen Klopp‘s side, he responded to a comment from former Fulham team-mate Ryan de Havilland calling him “next top model” by claiming it was “all I do now.”
He also came in for criticism from his Portugal U21s coach after informing him via text that he would no longer wish to be considered for selection.
And after his aborted loan spell at RB Leipzig, their sporting director Rouven Schroder said that, while Carvalho was a “great character,” it became clear he “didn’t want to face the competition” for places in their squad.
It is easy to understand the player’s frustrations on the pitch, having struggled for minutes at Liverpool, Leipzig and now Brentford since leaving Fulham in 2022.
His only consistent spell came on loan at Hull in the second half of last season, clocking more minutes on the pitch for the Tigers (1,726) than for those three clubs combined (1,524).
But given there is a pattern emerging when playing in a top-level environment, rather than in the Championship, it would only be fair to question the cause of the issue.
His father’s ill-advised input will only make the situation worse, with Frank no doubt asked about the comment in his next press conference.
