We wonder just how much Coutinho is wishing he was part of Liverpool’s celebrations last night, instead of getting annihilated by the Spanish press and the fans of Barcelona.
Just as he was in the first-leg, the Brazilian was hauled off early in the second-half after doing very little of note out on Barca’s left flank.
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ESPN break news of Coutinho price-tag, with clubs expressing interest already
Writing in their player ratings pice, SPORT gave Coutinho a 0/10 and labelled him ‘a danger to the team itself’.
Wow. There’s brutal – and then there’s outright disrespect:
Philipe Coutinho was given a rating of 0/10 by Catalan newspaper SPORT for last nights game. Barcelona's purchase of Coutinho likely financed Liverpool's purchase Van Dijk and Alisson, one of the greatest transfer business in the history of football. pic.twitter.com/nrzGNjRg9o
— Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) May 8, 2019
Our former no.10, like Luis Suarez, was shellshocked by the atmosphere and tenacity of Liverpool, despite being part of it not so long ago.
Coutinho was desperate to depart Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, but he may now be seeing the true benefit of the German on his career.
Phil is a jaw-dropping player, but Ernesto Valverde has not got the best out of him and the Barca fans fail to see his genius as we did.
In fairness, they have got Lionel Messi.
Selling him for such an enormous amount and getting Virgil van Dijk and Alisson with the money remains a superbly smart piece of business by the club.