This, 100 times this.
Football is about making dreams happen, not denying them.
Also, the longer Liverpool drag it on for, Salah might start worrying that they'll deny his big club move when the time comes this Summer or next.
Philippe Coutinho | Confirmed
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This, 100 times this.
Football is about making dreams happen, not denying them.
Also, the longer Liverpool drag it on for, Salah might start worrying that they'll deny his big club move when the time comes this Summer or next.
Isn't that's why they bought a defender for 75 mil - to sell coutiniho ?
Great business by Liverpool when they sell him.
He was considered a bit of a gamble when they bought him from Inter.
I fully expected him to flop, but credit where credits due, a great piece of business.
He was considered a bit of a gamble when they bought him from Inter.
I fully expected him to flop, but credit where credits due, a great piece of business.
Agree that it's futile to really search for a like for like replacement regardless of the player, nevermind Xavi, Iniesta or Neymar. Dembélé was a no brainer, IMHO, because I do see him as a special talent and traditionally Barcelona has usually had at least one player of his caliber to showcase and at the end of the day Barcelona fans crave being entertained much more than they do the actual silverware
I remember watching a bit of Coutinho when Mou recruited him to Inter but he struggled for a place there as Inter nosedived once Mou departed but I can't say I've ever seen much of him to assess if there's too much ego in the player.
I am not a fan of Valverde irrespective of the credit he surely deserves for navigating the bizarre summer the club had (Not limited to Neymar alone as the board was on the verge of being pushed out while making a fool of the club on the transfer market). Club & team was in a low moment that it might be the only time I've ever seen Zidane try to take the match to Barcelona in the Supercup - wounded, they were ripe for a kill
But I hate the pragmatic approach he espouses much less the 4-4-2 although the latter might have been necessary once Ousmane got injured. Gone was the approach of trying to integrate some youth or Deulofeu and they managed to be stable defensively enough for Messi to influence the majority of the points. Some might find that something to celebrate but that's not what many Barcelona fans look to see from our team - especially as some of the key players aren't getting younger
If I had to guess on Coutinho at present, I would think LFC/Klopp agreed to listen to a reasonable offer from Barcelona were he to get in line at the end of summer and not fuel the speculation until 2018. The reasonable expectation was that it meant summer but I think perhaps Valverde doesn't trust the midfielders he has in Arda, Rafinha, Suarez, Gomes & Rakitic and felt a move was needed now - even if it meant him being cup tied. Plus, the WC always makes it difficult to conduct transfers much less integrate a new key player in an abbreviated pre-season. I suspect that is why there is the push now. We'll see as it looks to be an interesting start to 2018 already
That’s a lot of money.
1463 minutes played EPL/Champions = 17 games - 12 goals and 08 assists. He has been consistent for more than a year in the strongest league, except few games when backing from injures.
I dont agree he's overrated, in fact is probably the most underrated among the top players. The things he can do almost every game, when another player do that we call the guy amazing for months.
He's not an individual with the character to lead a team. Once Liverpool signed top wingers he is shinning. Can't think about anybody more suited to be in the shadow of Messi. In his current level he will probably score more than 20 goals every season in Barcelona.
I dont agree he's overrated, in fact is probably the most underrated among the top players. The things he can do almost every game, when another player do that we call the guy amazing for months.
He's not an individual with the character to lead a team. Once Liverpool signed top wingers he is shinning. Can't think about anybody more suited to be in the shadow of Messi. In his current level he will probably score more than 20 goals every season in Barcelona.
I have been so impressed by Mo Salah, who I thought wouldnt be that great, that I dont think Liverpool need Coutinho anymore. They need to take Barcas arm off.
They'll miss Coutinho far more than a lot of people realise. Salah's streak isn't going to last forever.
Worrying thing for Liverpool is the sell-to-buy policy FSG prefer.
Torres, Suarez now Coutinho. They really do find it difficult to keep their stars.
Coutinho is the main man in that team, somebody needs to feed the balls to Salah
I think it depends more on players desire to leave than Liverpool wanting to sell them.
To keep players like Suarez or Coutinho you have to either build a team able to win titles or splash them with more money than the rest, in this era you won't get to keep a star in your team just by saying "This is Anfield" and "let's hope we get a top 4 finish and reach UCL semis"
I won't deny he has performed well for Liverpool, and as I said he is a fantastic player. I'm not going to try to debate further whether he's under- or overrated as then we'd have to clarify how 'rated' we perceive him in the first place, so ignore my 'overrated' claim.
I will not back down from my claim that his overall game doesn't convince me. Yes, he does fantastic things regularly, in offense. But as a midfielder, he's often a main culprit at the periodical collapses of Liverpool's game. They lose control when met with force too easily even when leading comfortably, and Coutinho plays a role there.
Interesting what you say about his character. That's maybe a good way to put it, and in that sense it might indeed work out at Barca when he's not asked to be the main man.
Peanuts in today's money.
Chelsea and Spurs have the same policy as Liverpool - sell before buy for same position policy. Chelsea and Spurs seem to be better at it. Liverpool don't, they have same policy but not for the same position.
As great as Salah's been, he's a goalscorer not really a creator. Brilliant at running in behind, but who's going to feed him? They have Keita coming who can do that a bit, but whilst he's more rounded than Coutinho, he's not quite the offensive force he is, plus there's no guarantees he'll settle.
Coutinho is still Liverpool's best player and has been consistently since Suarez left. People like to knock him on here and I get the sense a lot of that is just because of who he plays for, but he's stepped it up another notch this season and been outstanding & would be brilliant for Barca.
In a market where Liverpool themselves have just had to pay £75m for Van Dijk, and where Mbappe went for £160m+ after (an admittedly very impressive) a debut season, I can understand why Liverpool are holding out for big money. I would be asking for £130m+ at least.
Suarez and Coutinho, yes. But not Torres. He was on a downward spiral when Liverpool sold him. The problem was they spent most of the Torres money on Carroll though that was balanced out by signing Suarez.
Very true.
Salah has left me with egg on my face almost every week with the past 4-6 weeks when I've maintained his productivity will begin to wane and his performance start to 'level off' to his usual standard, but I still maintain his form will drop off sooner than later. I think it's a huge mistake on Liverpool's part to think Coutinho is surplus to requirements now Salah is carrying them through games. It's a very risky strategy. Look at how Mané's form fell off a cliff these past few months. Should Mané and Salah both start to misfire, and Coutinho is sunning himself in Barcelona, Liverpool, and Klopp, will be in deep trouble.
I don't think Liverpool feel he is surplus to requirements - they clearly want to keep him but when a player digs their heels in it usually ends only one way. With the money the transfer will bring in I have very confidence Klopp will find a suitable replacement - his record in signing attacking players has been very good.
Yes, he should not play as midfielder in the EPL, despite his stats of goals/assists in that role. In big games of the Champions i can't see it working. At least not for Liverpool with that defense. If he was an United player with Matic and Herrera covering his back it could be different.
In Barcelona i think he can play in the middle because they have such a colossal superiority in the ball possession that you need press more than defend.
I'm reading on some sites Coutinho again asked to leave.
Will be sad to see him leave the Premier League, delighted to see him leave Liverpool. He's been great for them this season, the total opposite to Sanchez in regards to attitude of players who've had their heads turned. He's their best player, and a huge reason why Salah has kept up his phenomenal goal scoring record so far.
from the guy who broke the Neymar transfer while others had 0 clue
Three parties involved in the deal ie coutinho, barca, Liverpool. Kia joorabchian is mediating the deal between parties. There was good feeling between all parties but nike leak has caused some stress
He also said on 31 december that Barca will make an offer when market opens and operation might close in 3-4 days.
Three parties involved in the deal ie coutinho, barca, Liverpool. Kia joorabchian is mediating the deal between parties. There was good feeling between all parties but nike leak has caused some stress
He also said on 31 december that Barca will make an offer when market opens and operation might close in 3-4 days.
Liverpool have notoriously over reported their fees in case of suarez (75 million reported, 65 million as per football leaks &barcelona), i think this is a brief building up to that. They will overestimate it again.
Because Barca and their press are the God's honest truth innit.
Football leaks are proven to be. But you wont believe that, it doesnt suit Pool's PR.
So this means Antoine Griezmann is back on the market, right? 
Didnt Mou say we will already be spending big on one player this summer? Cant think of anyone else that fits the bill.So this means Antoine Griezmann is back on the market, right?
You’re using one transfer as proof that Liverpool overstate the fees received for players?
Hope to feck we've got Lemar in the pipeline otherwise things could derail quickly. We need to win trophies to keep players here, and re investing this cash in to the side is critical to that. Then going even bigger in the summer. Otherwise the reputation FSG have garnered amongst the fanbase will continue to deteriorate and any positive sentiments quickly extinguished following the VVD deal. They need to show they're ready to commit and spending the cash we've earned over the last few years is paramount, rather than flaunting it like an inebriated fool.
I´m still not convinced Liverpool was ever in for Lemar. That seems more like a Monaco play to rip off Arsenal. Excluding the special circumstances surrounding the VVD mess, their targets have not become public until the transfer was actually/nearly completed. €90M is a f***load. That´s before we assume Coutinho yields €150M, at which point Monaco will probably quote Liverpool a ridiculous sum like €100M.
Nah all of Joyce Reddy and Pearce ran with the Lemar thing unless my memory is failing me. Those three are directly fed by the club, pretty much any target post Phil will have an exorbitant value attached. A knock on effect of the Neymar money still being dispersed in the market.
Alfredo Martinez suggests that part of the agreement for Messi to renew was a firm commitment that Coutinho would be signed in January and that tomorrow will go a long ways in closing the transfer
Sounds plausible. Can just see Messi threatening to walk if global footballing legend Coutinho isn't signed mid-season.
I think a worst case scenario (and it's by no means disastrous) would be that the Coutinho money has already been reinvested in VVD and Keita - those two transfers seem to add up to the same amount that's been quoted for Coutinho.
Why not? Messi can easily put that into his new contract? Unless player A, B, C are signed by date X,Y,Z my new contract becomes invalid and I am a
Barca press in uber duber super overdrive.
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