Bartomeu thanks Coutinho's "effort, work and patience"
The president of Barcelona, Josep Bartomeu, welcome Philippe Coutinho to the club and spoke about the players patience and effort to make the deal happen.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, the president of FC Barcelona, welcome Philippe Coutinho to the Camp Nou as the club's latest addition. Along with various directors of the club, Bartomeu sat in the front row as the fruits of his recent labours was unveiled in the shape of the 25-year-old Brazilian. Along with Jordi Mestre and Javier Bordas; the CEO of the club, Óscar Grau; the manager of sport for football, Pep Segura and the technical secretary of the first team, Robert, were all present at the presentation.
He gave a welcome speech to a player Barca have chased since the summer. Bartomeu said, "We are delighted to present Philippe Coutinho to all the culés around the world. Since last summer, he has been a player we have tried to bring in. The technical team, all of the staff and trainers have been telling us for a long time to bring him to the club. It was not easy. We have been working and in conversations over the last number of months but Coutinho was determind to come here. It was one of his objectives and the effort, work and patience he had with us was decisive. Today, all of the culés around the world are happy to announce that one of the stars of world football has arrived at Barcelona."
"Philippe is here for a long time. I won't divulge his professional direction now but I can say that it was not easy and there were other clubs that wanted him but his determination and his excitement to be with us was key. We intend, as a team, to keep getting better little by little and today, with the addition of him, we take an important step in continuing to do so. His family, who are here, also wanted this to happen and it has now happened. Many thanks for accepting to be here and coming to Barca. You know we had spoken about you being a player we have been looking at and wanted to thank you for your determination and your excitement to come here. I would like to thank Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world, for their behaviour. I would finally like to say thanks and to present Coutinho as a Barcelona player. Welcome."
The player managed to say a few words before the photo was taken. "I just want to thank the president for the efforts and the patience they had during this situation. I am content and happy to be here. It is my dream and on the field, I hope to respond to all of the expectations. Thanks."
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