[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Liverpool playmaker Roberto Firmino has been banned from driving for a year and fined £20,000 for drunk-driving.

The 25-year-old Brazil international was arrested after his car was stopped in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Firmino was taken to a police station and breathalyzed.

In a statement, the Liverpool FC forward said what he did was wrong and he had apologized.

The club said it had "disciplined" him but the action would remain private.