The transfer of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona was one that dominated not only the latter part of the summer but the first half of the season.

It was absolutely no secret that Barca wanted the Brazilian and both Liverpool and their fans knew that a bid would be incoming at some point.

Neymar's enormous shock move to Paris-Saint Germain changed everything, however, leaving the Catalans far more desperate and Liverpool in a stronger position to demand more money.

The pursuit of Coutinho lept from being somewhat under the radar to be the biggest story going almost overnight, with suddenly every day bringing new rumours and news surrounding it.

Everyone knows by now how things went, of course, as Barcelona applied as much pressure as possible while Liverpool resisted everything they could until the window finally shut.

Still, that wasn't the end of it, and the move felt inevitable all through the first half of the season until the deal was agreed shortly into the winter window.

Coutinho didn't look settled when he played this season, frequently looking more like someone doing their job than playing with any joy.

He clearly wanted his move as desperately as Barcelona wanted to make it happen and recent comments by Barcelona's vice-president show exactly how much.

In an interview with Sport, Jordi Mestre was asked if it was true that Coutinho had taken a pay-cut as part of his £142 million, the VP said: "Yes, he made a big economic effort, like [Javier] Mascherano and Luis Suarez in their day."

Both Suarez and Mascherano made the same move as Coutinho, swapping Anfield for Camp Nou, and both reportedly reduced their pay to make it happen.

It's a sign of exactly how big of a pull the club is to players, particularly South Americans who often cite Barca and Real Madrid as their ultimate goals.

As much as Liverpool fans dislike the way Coutinho left the club, they can't accuse him of doing it in the 'mercenary' fashion that players tend to be derided for - here was a player who truly wanted to play for Barcelona and was willing to do whatever he could to make that happen.