Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards met over Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Sporting Director Michael Edwards met to discuss a possible move for Philippe Coutinho. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of re-signing the Brazilian ace last summer.
The 27-year-old has been struggling at the Nou Camp. With patience wearing thin, Barcelona offered the player on loan to a number of Premier League sides.
Ultimately, Coutinho chose to sign for Bayern Munich on a season-long loan.
The Brazilian has scored seven goals and eight assists in 27 appearances for the Bavarians this season.
A star at Liverpool, Coutinho made 201 appearances for the Reds, producing 54 goals and 45 assists. The player has garnered interest from Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham, with all of them keen to take a chance on the Brazilian. (h/t Express)
According to the Athletic (h/t Express), Liverpool had a good chance of signing the player last summer. However, the meeting between Klopp and Edwards did not long.
Bringing the Brazilian back would have taken a considerable financial commitment from Liverpool. On top of the £8 million loan fee, Barcelona also wanted the Reds to pay his £250,000-a-week wages in full.
This would, however, have gone against the ethos of the club’s wage structure. It would have comfortably overtaken the amount earnt by Liverpool’s highest earner Mohamed Salah at £200,000-a-week.
The Reds would also have had to pay a fee around £110 million to make the deal permanent.
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Coutinho was one of the best Liverpool players of the last decade. He was expected to be central to Klopp’s attempts at rebuilding the Reds into a footballing powerhouse. He, however, chose to move to Barcelona instead.
25 months on, it is the Reds who have had the last laugh.
