Klopp didn’t want to sell Coutinho

“[Coutinho’s] a player of absolute substance. I had him at Liverpool and I would never had sold him, if I wasn’t forced to,” said Klopp.

“The offer was undeniable to us, it seemed strange, we couldn’t allow ourselves to hold him back.”

Those are the words of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who admitted that he didn’t want to sell Philippe Coutinho back when he signed for Barcelona. The Brazilian playmaker was heavily criticised for the manner in which he left Anfield, but now, the club find themselves in a position where a lot of fans would probably take him back.

That isn’t going to be possible for a while yet, of course, now that Coutinho has agreed to sign for German giants Bayern Munich on loan. Bayern have made it clear that they want to make him a featured member of the first team squad, which is the kind of luxury that Barca just couldn’t afford.