Philippe Coutinho can’t say he wasn’t warned.
On the final day of 2016-17 season, having just watched his team clinch a Champions League spot, Jurgen Klopp was asked about the future of his Brazilian number 10.
Coutinho had been brilliant all year, scoring or assisting 20 goals, and the Liverpool manager was emphatic in his assessment.
“Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour,” Klopp replied, “Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player.”
The Reds’ little magician did not end up moving that summer, but, flush with the cash from the Neymar transfer, Barcelona were determined to get their man. In January 2018, he finally departed for an extraordinary £142m.
Initially brought in on the premise that he would occupy the central midfield role vacated by Andrés Iniesta, Coutinho has instead seen that spot filled by fellow South Americans Arthur and Arturo Vidal. Valverde has taken the view that Coutinho is not dynamic enough for the middle of the park, where he can leave his team looking vulnerable to more physically imposing opponents, as was so clearly the case in Brazil’s 2018 World Cup quarter final against Belgium.
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Initially brought in on the premise that he would occupy the central midfield role vacated by Andrés Iniesta, Coutinho has instead seen that spot filled by fellow South Americans Arthur and Arturo Vidal. Valverde has taken the view that Coutinho is not dynamic enough for the middle of the park, where he can leave his team looking vulnerable to more physically imposing opponents, as was so clearly the case in Brazil’s 2018 World Cup quarter final against Belgium.