A penny for Philippe Coutinho thoughts on Liverpool’s Premier League triumph.
When the Brazilian playmaker left Liverpool for Barcelona in January 2018, he thought he had it made. He expected trophies galore and to be adored by the Barcelona faithful.
But that wasn’t how things went. Coutinho struggled in his first full season at Camp Nou and was loaned out to Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 campaign.
Indeed, it’s not clear whether the 28-year-old has a future at Barcelona.
Coutinho was the star man at Liverpool but he traded it all for a bit-part role at Barça and Bayern Munich.
And yet he thought his spell at Barcelona would lead to “big titles”.
"Everyone knows that I wanted to come to Barcelona,” he told 8tv's 'Fora de Joc' in February 2018, per the Mirror.
“It wasn't possible in the summer, but we worked so that it could be done in winter.
"I really want to win big titles, it was one of the reasons that made me sign for the club. I want to win as many as I can.”
The same rings true for Emre Can, who left the Reds in 2018 for Juventus.
But Can lasted less than two years at Juventus before leaving for Borussia Dortmund after his relationship with Maurizio Sarri went south.
However, Can was excited to join the Serie A giants and thought he would play an important role for them.
“I had a lot of offers from very good teams," Can told the Liverpool Echo.
"I decided to come to Juventus because I think the project here is very big. They have very big aims. I want to be part of the project here.
"The club had good contact with my agent for many years. I just know how huge the club is and the mentality of the club - they want to win titles. That's my mentality too. I came here to win titles.
"I think the first target has to be to win Serie A and then comes the Champions League. That has to be our aim. I am here to help the team."
Meanwhile, Liverpool have flourished since Coutinho and Can departed, winning the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020.
So the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.