The Secret Behind Coutinho’s Retention-
With the transfer window now closed, Liverpool still has a hold on their key player Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian play-maker was the main focus of the La Liga club Barcelona, who wanted Coutinho to replace their former star winger Neymar who left for Paris Saint Germain.
It was a thrilling transfer window in the summer, with Neymar leaving Barcelona for a world record fee, but the Catalonian club could not just sit on the €220 million, they needed to bring in star quality to replace one of the best players in the world.
Their prime target was Philippe Coutinho, and the Brazilian was very close to joining Barcelona. The 25-year-old handed in his transfer request when Barcelona came calling but the Reds were adamant that their prized asset was going nowhere in the transfer window.
However, there was another member in the Liverpool squad who revealed that Coutinho was on the verge of joining the Spanish giants; Alberto Moreno claimed that he had talks with Coutinho about his future at the club. And this is what the Spanish left-back had to say.
Moreno stated, “It is great news that someone of Coutinho’s stature continues [at Liverpool]. It benefits everyone – the club and the city.”
“He is one of the best footballers that I have shared a dressing room with.”
“[What did he tell me about his possible move to Barca?] I do not like to go into details, I am his close friend and he tells me everything, but it’s better to ask him.”
A lot of the Anfield faithful believe that Moreno was one of the key reasons why Coutinho remained at the club and have thanked him galore.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had also stated that Coutinho is a huge part of his plans at the club, but the thought of your best player leaving the club is always frightening.
Especially, when the Catalonian club is willing to spend £138m on transfer fees, and their bids for Coutinho were rejected thrice.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona president claimed that Liverpool was asking €200 million for Coutinho and decided that the figure was impossible to negotiate.
What Next For Liverpool?
Another draw in the Champions League, this time against Spartak Moskva and things are not improving for the Merseyside outfit. When Klopp came to Anfield, there were a lot of expectations from him to produce some results and get the club more titles, though that has not happened so far.
The only plus point is that he has taken the Reds to a couple of cup finals, though he has lost them both. Their performance in the league has not really improved under the German manager, though they did make it back to the Champions League this time around.
There is a serious need to change the tactics that the team has been using or is it just something about the mentality? Only time will tell.
