Liverpool: Klopp rules out Coutinho return: "It's just not possible"
A return to Liverpool has been suggested but Reds manager Jürgen Klopp dismissed the possibility of re-signing Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona.
Jürgen Klopp has ruled out the possibility of Philippe Coutinho returning to Anfield because Liverpool don't have the funds to re-sign the Barcelona player.
Coutinho left Liverpool to join Barcelona in January 2018 for a fee that could reach €160million (£142m) with various add-ons, however, the Brazil international has already been linked with a move away. The 27-year-old has looked out of sorts at Camp and has struggled to break into the side; the only position available to him is the left wing slot where he has been competing with Ousmane Dembélé. He scored just five goals in 22 LaLiga starts last season - a disappointing balance for many Culés. A return to European champions Liverpool has been suggested but Reds manager Klopp dismissed the possibility, explaining that the club is in for a subdued transfer window with maybe just one new arrival before trading closes on 8 August.
Apart from the economic side of recovering Coutinho, does Klopp need another player who can link midfield to the front three when he already has several players doing that job already - including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ("Our big signing this summer" says the coach), now over his ACL injury and fully fit again. And would the fans want Coutinho back? Some certainly would but the player was given the whistling treatment by sections of the crowd in May's Champions League semi-final against Barça. And then Liverpool have evolved into an entirely different beast in the 18 months since Coutinho left - he would need adapt to a new style of play...
Fantastic Phil
"In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still – 100 per cent," Klopp told ESPN FC. "It's not about that. I like Phil, I think he's a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that. It's just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better – us included – but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona. Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that. If everything was true what newspapers write about me – wow! If it's similar to what they write about me, I would say he's completely happy at Barcelona and wants to sign a new six-year contract or whatever."
Bale too expensive for Liverpool
Klopp has also denied Liverpool could make a move for Real Madrid outcast Gareth Bale, claiming the Wales forward's wages would be too expensive. “Bale is a Real Madrid player and if he leaves it will be outstandingly expensive and big wages. He is an outstanding player, I like him a lot but it is not about him. You have to create a team. A team is not a collection of the best individual players, they have to work together.”