Philippe Coutinho‘s Liverpool departure left a sour taste in the mouth for the manner in which it played out, but the Brazilian says he “couldn’t say no to my dream.”
From a ‘back injury’ to a January departure, Coutinho’s exit from Liverpool in 2018 was drawn out and left him with few fans on Merseyside despite the influence he’d had at the club.
In the winter the Reds would agree to a deal worth £142 million, sending Coutinho to Barcelona and with it changing their trajectory under Jurgen Klopp as Virgil van Dijk and Alisson soon arrived.
Klopp had warned Coutinho he would become “just another player” and having since moved to four different clubs, it proved an accurate prediction from the German.
Yet, Coutinho insists that he has “no regrets” as he was never going to say ‘no’ to realising his dream of playing for the Catalan side.
“I had this dream to play for Barcelona,” he told Premier League Stories. “Then the opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t say no to my dream.
“I have no regrets about everything I experienced, all the places I’ve been. I gave my all, was very professional and tried to do my best.
“It worked out well at some clubs, while not so much at others. But that’s football. But I don’t have any regrets, only thanks and gratitude for every club I’ve been at.”
After a summer pursuit in 2017, Coutinho would wait until January to make the move, which initially did not see him look back until he fell out of favour just 18 months later.
On his transfer to Spain, Coutinho added: “We had loads of conversations. At that time, I really wanted to move to Barcelona.
“We had many discussions about staying, about leaving but, eventually, the club (Liverpool) agreed to let me go and I joined Barcelona.
“The beginning was really good. My first six months at Barcelona were great. We won a title and I was playing really well.
“But the following season, after the World Cup, I was not in the same shape. My performances dipped and that was tough for me.
“I wanted to meet expectations, my own expectations as well but I just wasn’t able to.
“That period was really challenging for me, but I leaned on my family and in my faith, I’ve always believed in God. That helped me stay strong through it all.”
After initially leaving Barcelona on loan for Bayern Munich in 2019, Coutinho has since played for Aston Villa, Qatar’s Al-Duhail and is now back in Brazil playing for Vasco da Gama.
The 32-year-old is, however, still an Aston Villa player and his fortunes are a reminder that the grass is not always greener when you leave Anfield.
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