Question marks were raised following the sale of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona, and with good reason. The Brazilian emerged as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders and perhaps the Reds’ most important player, and nobody could foresee how the club would be able to deal without him.
Losing a major player is never easy, and that’s especially true when said player is the focal point of a squad; but cope Liverpool most certainly have.
Liverpool have since reinvested that money into some of Europe’s best talents, with players like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson moving to Anfield in the months following Coutinho’s departure.
It’s not just what Liverpool have done with the money, though, that highlights the shrewdness of Liverpool and their sporting director Michael Edwards. Indeed, the actual sum itself – combined with Coutinho’s recent form – prove that Liverpool were the real winners in his sale.
According to the Guardian, the fee for the Brazilian could reach a whopping £142 million, which is a stunning amount of money by anyone’s terms. It, to this day, makes him one of the most expensive footballers of all time. Now, if the Brazilian had gone over to Spain and played well, as all fans know he can, then Barcelona would have felt that they got their money’s worth. After all, there’s no way to put a price on talent, and if he spent the rest of his career in Spain and won a plethora of trophies, he’d be a worthy investment.
However, it hasn’t gone like that. Rather, Coutinho has really struggled to adapt to life in Spain, and instead of cementing his legacy as one of Europe’s best – he’s instead crushing his reputation with a flurry of poor performances and a lack of consistency. He’s bagged just 2 league assists this term, for example, which is well below par for a player of his quality. There have still been a few great performances from him, but there’s been nothing to signify that he’s coming close to the form that eventually earned him that big money move to Spain. Is there still time for him to prove his doubters wrong? Of course, but at this stage, Liverpool must be celebrating his exit.
Between his own personal form and Liverpool’s rapid growth following his exit, it’s hard to count Coutinho’s sale as anything but a major win from the perspective of the Reds. Would he still start at Anfield? He probably would, but that doesn’t mean that they’re missing him. To the contrary, you’d expect that the club are enjoying the huge profit they made on his sale a whole lot more.
Thoughts?
