Barcelona is making a huge play for Liverpool striker, Philippe Coutinho, and no one at the club is happy about it. In fact, a former player, Steven Gerrard, is also unhappy with what’s going on, and he hopes the young striker will continue to play for Liverpool.
The Anfield legend claims Barcelona is piling the pressure on Coutinho to either make an exit from Liverpool or never hear from them ever again. That’s a huge ultimatum that could very well work out in Barcelona’s favor.
According to Gerrard, Coutinho has always wanted to play for Barcelona, and right now, he’s panicking because if he stays at Liverpool, he may never get the chance to play for the club ever again.
Camp Nou is playing mind games to get the talent it needs.
Gerrard has sympathy for Coutinho
The former Liverpool striker says he understands the situation the 25-year-old is in. He says the young man is a good person, but at the end of the day, he must remember he signed a 5-year deal with Liverpool earlier this year. Furthermore, his time at Anfield transformed him into the player he is today.
Additionally, Gerrard went on to add that Coutinho was struggling at Inter Milan, and Liverpool saw promise in the player and took him in. The club built him, and therefore, he owes it to the team to stay for at least one more year.
The thing is, Gerrard as a man of experience and legend, should know players have no loyalty to their clubs.
They go to the club with the best opportunity for them to win trophies and to earn more money. If a player wants to leave, there’s no need to force the issue. An unsettled player is a sad player, which ultimately means, he won’t perform well on the pitch.
What will happen now?
Recent rumors claim Barcelona is planning to increase its bid for Coutinho to a whopping £100 million after having other offers turned down by the Reds.
Now, Liverpool did say it has no intention of selling its main striker, but that's just talking. Given the right amount of money, and the time left to find a replacement, Anfield would not think twice of releasing the player from his contract.
Nonetheless, Liverpool should survive without the player. It’s not the best club in the English Premier League, but it’s still competitive every season. Furthermore, there is bound to be a quality replacement out there, so there’s nothing much to worry about. The team should focus on its upcoming matches as those are most important.
