According to the latest reports, former Liverpool superstar Philippe Coutinho has snubbed a possible move to join Manchester United because of his previous connections with the Reds. The Brazilian playmaker has struggled to find any sort of form on a consistent basis for La Liga giants Barcelona and could be on his way out of the Camp Nou.
Jurgen Klopp has worked his magic at Liverpool and is making the Reds a formidable force in Europe as they managed to win the Champions League this season. The Merseyside club defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final of the competition to bring the European Cup to Anfield for the sixth time. Liverpool were also the closest rivals to the formidable Manchester City unit that Pep Guardiola has built.
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Last season, the Blue half of Manchester ran away with the Premier League title as they stormed the English top division, breaking multiple records in the process amassing 100 points. Liverpool ensured that City would not have an easy stroll on the park as they finished just one point behind Guardiola’s team on 98 points.
The reason why Klopp deserves so much praise with Liverpool is that he has taken them to such great heights. That is despite losing some key players along the way. In January 2018, Liverpool had to sell their talisman at the time, Philippe Coutinho. It was after he handed in his transfer request to join Catalonian giants Barcelona. There was nothing the Reds could do to tie down Coutinho at Anfield and he left for the Camp Nou in a staggering £142m deal. Coutinho incidentally left Liverpool to win the Champions League with Barcelona but the La Liga club suffered humiliation when they were ironically dumped out of the tournament by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the competition.
The 26-year-old has now failed to make an impact at Barcelona. That has been following a disappointing one and a half years at the club. Despite winning the La Liga title twice, Coutinho’s individual performances have been quite shambolic, to say the least.
He has been failing to live up to his heavy price tag. The midfield gem has scored five goals and notched up only two assists in 34 appearances in the Spanish League. Barcelona is keen on allowing him to leave because of disappointing performances.
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There are still plenty of top clubs in Europe eager to sign Coutinho in the summer transfer window. Manchester United are monitoring his situation. The Red Devils under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are looking to rebuild. They will look to lure in high-quality attackers in the summer to bolster their squad. Coutinho is one of their prime targets.
Philippe Coutinho: "I have not had a good season, I have not managed to do what the people and I expected." [via sport] pic.twitter.com/ECpBtTeC8s
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 6, 2019
However, recent reports claim that Coutinho is reluctant to join the Old Trafford outfit. It is because of his previous loyalties with Liverpool. The second reason is that Manchester United will not be playing Champions League football as well. That is after they finished sixth in the English league table.
Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are now looking to snap up the play-maker. That is as his interest in a return to England has probably taken a back-seat.