Jurgen Klopp’s comments say it all about potential Philippe Coutinho Liverpool return

Liverpool have yet again been linked with a Phillippe Coutinho reunion.

Now there’s a shock.

An Anfield return for the attacking midfielder has continuously been mooted since his departure to Barcelona four years ago.

What’s been said

Coutinho left the Reds to join the La Liga giants for a staggering £142 million in January 2018.

However, he’s failed to build any sort of moment at the Nou Camp and far from justified his hefty price tag.

This season, the Brazil international’s struggles have continued and he’s made only 12 appearances in total.

As a result, Barca are ready to grant Coutinho an exit during the January transfer window to ease their financial pressures, according to Goal.

He reportedly earns £380,000 per week in Spain.

It’s hardly a surprise that Liverpool have been mentioned as a possible destination where Coutinho could end up, with a switch to the Premier League his preference.

During his five-year spell on Merseyside, he netted 54 goals in 204 appearances and forged a formidable partnership with Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino - nicknamed the Fab Four - before his exit.

Given Coutinho’s struggles over the past couple of years, plenty of Kopites would, naturally, be hesitant to bring him back to Anfield.

There’s no guarantee the ex-Inter Milan playmaker would return to the dizzy heights he previously hit.

What has Jurgen Klopp said about Philippe Coutinho?

Judging by Jurgen Klopp’s past comments, it suggests he too would be against bringing back Coutinho.

Appearing as a guest on the Pure Football Podcast back in 2020, the Liverpool boss was asked if he would ever consider re-signing Coutinho.

Klopp was diplomatic in his response but seemingly distanced himself from such a move.

He said: “Phil was our boy for a long time. We respect him a lot and wish him all the best.

“That’s how football should be. That’s the most important thing the club showed in that moment.”

Coutinho was in rampant form during the 2017-18 season before his Liverpool departure.

He’d plundered 12 goals and eight assists but the lure of Barcelona proved too tempting - and Klopp couldn’t hold him back.

“I really respected Phil’s switch from the first second,” the Germam said.

“Not that I do that all the time but it felt, ‘oh wow, that could be difficult’.

“So it’s not about, yes, we signed a new contract so many weeks before that, but it was really clear he would not have asked me for any other club, but for this club, there was no chance.

“Then we had to be hard in the summer because we had no other solution. We lost Adam Lallana [to injury] in that time as well, we would have lost two players.

“That’s not possible, you cannot solve that on the transfer market.

“He was open to that [staying] and that was really cool. Then you have to be fair in the window and say we can do it, we don’t like it but we can do it.”