E-mails between Liverpool and Barcelona regarding Philippe Coutinho have been leaked
According to a report by Mirror, German outlet Der Speigel has blown the lid off the conversations that took place between Barcelona and Liverpool in 2017 regarding the sale of Coutinho. The leaked e-mails reveal how Barcelona pursued Coutinho over a period of 6 months with three successive offers.
The Catalan side first bid for Coutinho in July 2017 with a £72million offer. The Reds informed Barcelona that Coutinho “wasn’t for sale at any price”.
Liverpool then received a second offer the next month for £90million which was rejected with a polite warning from Michael Edwards, who asked Barcelona to step back. Edwards replied, “I ask you amicably to stop harassing Coutinho publicly and privately. No amount of money will change our minds.”
The Spanish side ended their interest in Coutinho after their third bid, quoted at £114million, was rejected that summer. In the meantime, Coutinho’s mind wandered towards a move to the La Liga side. The unsettled Brazilian infamously handed a transfer request in January. (h/t Mirror)
As we know, Coutinho completed his move to Barcelona on the 6th of January, 2018. His then quoted price of £142million was a magnanimous increase from Barcelona’s initial bid of £72million. While we fans may have felt that this was a wrong move at that time, the Reds went on to reach the UEFA Champions League final that season.
The Reds beat Coutinho’s Barcelona en-route to their seventh UEFA Champions League, not long after the Brazilian’s departure. Winning our first Premier League title the next year was the icing on the cake.
The club shifted to a more reserved midfield-three after Coutinho’s departure, which tightened our defensive stats massively. In hindsight, we should be glad that Barcelona hounded Liverpool for Coutinho.
The club might have taken time to completely get over Coutinho’s presence in the midfield, but the fee we got for O Magico helped us in signing four world-class players. And, we’re not doing so bad in the trophy department too!
