Former Liverpool star Fabio Borini has inked a surprising late deal to join David Beckham and Gary Neville’s Salford City.
The League Two side announced that the 34-year-old had made the move on Friday by signing a ‘short-term’ contract, and that after training with the team for the past month, he could be ready to start his first match this weekend.
For followers of top-flight football, Borini’s re-emergence in the fourth division comes as somewhat of a shock.
The Italian last featured in the Premier League in 2017 with his former club Sunderland.
But Borini had first made the move to English soil when he joined Chelsea in 2007 from Serie A side Bologna.
The forward failed to settle at Stamford Bridge after being sidelined with a significant hernia operation, and by 2011, Borini accepted a loan move to Championship side Swansea City.
Fabio Borini (centre, in 2015) has signed a surprise deal to join Salford City over a decade after playing for Liverpool
The Italian forward has enjoyed a peripatetic career in England, Italy, and Turkey (pictured featuring for Fatih Karagumruk in 2023)
After stints at Parma and Roma, Borini returned in 2012 to join the Reds, where he made 38 appearances across three seasons, his time at Anfield interrupted by a loan spell to Sunderland.
Borini fared far better at the Stadium of Light, where he returned on a permanent deal in 2015, scoring 17 goals and registering a further five assists in his 93 run-outs.
Spells at AC Milan, Hellas Verona, Sampdoria, and Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk, followed.
The player had been out of contract at relegated Sampdoria since the summer before the League Two side extended their offer, with Borini embracing the ‘challenging’ of returning to England mid-season.
‘It’s been great, I came in to train to keep myself fit in this transition between contracts and Salford, the Gaffer, Alex Bruce were kind enough to allow me to use the facilities and train here,’ Borini said upon signing his deal.
‘Experience is one thing that I can bring, but it’s not just about the experience that I have on the pitch, it’s outside of the pitch so leading by example in training, outside training, how to manage a game.
‘I’ve never played League Two football so I need to learn as well from my team mates the main characteristics of this league, but I will bring myself as an open book for my team mates to use me, learn from me or help me, so I’m very open to this challenge.
‘It’s a challenge that I’m embracing and I chose to embrace because I needed the real football, something that warms my heart for football, not for anything else.’
Salford City made a move for the star as a result of an injury to regular striker Jay Bird, with Borini contracted until January.
