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According to The Mirror, Liverpool could reportedly lose millions of pounds if their former player, Philippe Coutinho, decides to join Manchester United and put an end to his Barcelona nightmare.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Spanish giants smashed their transfer record to bring the Brazilian international to Catalonia at the beginning of 2018, but things haven’t been easy for Coutinho since his arrival at the Camp Nou.
After starring for the Blaugrana in the second half of last season with 10 goals and six assists, the 26-year-old has spent a lot of the current campaign either on the bench, or being played out of position and struggling to hit a run of form – his performances have led to boos from the Barcelona fans.
Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…
He has scored just eight goals and made five more this term, and has reportedly issued a come-and-get-me plea to the Red Devils who have been linked with a £100m move.
A rare Michael Edwards blunder?
Liverpool and Barcelona shook on a reported £142m fee when Coutinho left the Premier League for La Liga, although a portion of that sum is dependant on bonuses, containing clauses that won’t be met if the former Inter man leaves the club.
Those clauses are as follows. Liverpool will be handed £4.4m for every 25 La Liga appearances that Coutinho makes, which they have already received once and look set to do so again before the summer with the playmaker currently on 43 appearances – however, if he leaves, the Reds could miss out on at least £8.8m and potentially £13.2m as part of the original agreement.
It would obviously have been tough for sporting director Michael Edwards to have foreseen this unfortunate situation regarding the Brazilian’s unsuccessful time in Spain, although he could potentially have done more to secure the additional sums and secure the whole fee for Liverpool; especially given how desperate Barcelona were to sign him at the time.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are also set to receive £4.4m if Barcelona qualify for the Champions League, which they should do, and another £4.4m if they win the prestigious competition – if they don’t win it this season and Coutinho leaves, that clause will be wiped from existence.
While they clearly got great money for the 26-year-old, in total the Reds could miss out on £17.6m if Coutinho joins their arch-rivals United. Could Edwards have done better? Potentially.
