For Philippe Coutinho, it was dream come true when he made the big money move from Liverpool to Barcelona, a club he always dreamt of playing for as a kid. Adding cherry to the top, he also had the enviable opportunity to play with one of the greatest players in footballing history, Lionel Messi.
And it all seemed to go well during the January of 2018 as he bid adieu to Anfield and headed towards the Camp Nou.
The first 6 months were quite promising for the Brazilian who was touted to be a replacement of one of the biggest servant of the club, Iniesta and was also meant to fill the void left by his Brazilian teammate Neymar.
Coutinho’s first goal for Barcelona, assisted by his former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez, at the time promised big things for the 27-year-old. The Brazilian expected to achieve the kind of success Neymar did during his stay at the club.
Meanwhile, Barcelona expected him to reproduce the kind of form he displayed for Liverpool and create a new trio to rival MSN.
However, in the span of a year and half, Philippe Coutinho saw his current side bottle a 3-0 first leg lead in the Champions League semifinal at Anfield. That disastrous night lead to his former club playing their second consecutive Champions League Final in the absence of the Brazilian and this time winning it.
Philippe Coutinho had his best ever professional season back in 2017/18 campaign, scoring 22 goals and having 14 assists in 42 games for Barcelona and Liverpool. He looked set to recreate, or even better that at the start of 2018/19. But he couldn’t fit in Valverde’s system.
Valverde played him alongside Rakitić and Busquets but the Brazilian wasn’t involved much in helping out his partners defensively. Valverde also tried him as a winger with Ousmane Dembélé suffering injuries. However, Coutinho seemed to slow down when pushed further up the pitch.
With the world’s greatest player having the freedom to play as both winger and central attacker, Coutinho was denied the chance to play his preferred position. Coutinho as a number 10 is sensational, as seen during his Liverpool days as well as when he is playing for his country. One can argue Coutinho should have been given the freedom and flexibility to play as an attacking mid behind Suarez. It wouldn’t really impact Messi’s playstyle as the Argentine is just that great regardless of where he is on the pitch whilst performing his offensive duties.
With Coutinho playing behind the centre forward, this would have allowed Dembélé or Malcom to get a regular start and prove their cases to start. Philippe Coutinho became a similar kind of player Cesc Fàbregas became at Barcelona. Fàbregas couldn’t recreate his amazing stint at Arsenal at the Nou Camp and he was criticised by Spanish media and fans alike for slowing down Barcelona’s pace much like the flak the Brazilian is coping.
Even after a below average season, a player of Coutinho’s talents will still be in demand.
According to reports, Barcelona tried to put the Brazilian midfielder in a deal to get Neymar back from PSG. However, negotiations broke down and a rebuilding Bayern seized the opportunity and signed the player on a season long deal with an option to buy for €120 million next summer. The pace of German football and Bayern’s philosophy may suit Coutinho, as Bayern will try to give him more freedom as a primary creator.
Coutinho looks set to play a much more important role in Bayern just like he did in Liverpool. His former manager Jürgen Klopp, who has distanced himself throughout this transfer saga, applauded the move made by the 27-year-old to Bavaria. Klopp admitted in an interview with German outlet Bild that he advised the player to make the move to Bayern. Klopp is quoted to have said,
“Amazing player, we really didn’t want to let him go. Barca forced us financially.”
“World class player, really good transfer for Bayern and the Bundesliga. I thought it’s a good fit for both when I first heard about it. It may sound strange, but we didn’t have enough money to get him.”
“We’d already spent all the money we got for him. I have already told him in person that he and Bayern will be a good fit.”
Only time will tell how the upcoming season will transform Philippe Coutinho’s future, as Bayern are in a rebuilding mode. They’ll still be the favourites to retain the league, however Coutinho’s presence can bolster their chances of being crowned European Champions again, as he will add a different dynamic to their attack.
Bayern may not choose to buy Coutinho depending on how this season goes, however the likelihood of Bayern passing up on a talent such as him is really low. Coutinho’s childhood dream to play for Barcelona took quite the unexpected wrong turn. However he can still fulfil his other ambitions, one of which will still be winning the coveted Champions League, a dream that was crushed on the second leg of the semi-final last season by his former club.