Philippe Coutinho and his failed stint at Barcelona
FC Barcelona is a club with a lot of ups and downs and its history confirms it, with the Spanish giants often switching from a lot of great moments to a lot of pain. This is further emphasized in the years prior to the arrival of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, with the club struggling for success and relevancy. In that regard, Neymar's exit in the summer of 2017 was a major catalyst for a steady decline in the club.
The context
The Brazilian had been one of Liverpool's best players since his arrival in 2013 and had been part of manager Jurgen Klopp's rebuild, although the squad was still undergoing that process. There were a lot of ups and downs, but the club had qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 2017-18 season, and it seemed that a quartet of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah, and Coutinho himself could do some serious damage in the competition.However, this is when Barcelona arrived at the conversation. The Catalonian side was already reported to be interested in Coutinho all the way back in 2016, with club legend Xavi Hernandez, then playing in Qatar, suggesting his signing.
"Coutinho is a player I have always thought is special," Xavi said. "There are not many players that can improve Barcelona, but if you are asking me if he is one of them, on this form, I think he is. Technically, he is very good. He would suit Barcelona's philosophy well."
Once Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017, this is when the Catalonians decided to move for Coutinho. However, Liverpool was not interested in selling and the Brazilian didn't partake in some preseason matches due to a "back injury". Although some reports and revelations over the years seem to suggest that he was disappointed because the Barcelona move didn't take place.
Klopp was initially unwilling to let him go but as the season progressed, Coutinho was not performing, and the lack of balance in midfield was not working out. Liverpool began to show a lot more willingness to let him go, and he was signed by Barcelona in January of 2018 for 105 million pounds, which could potentially rise to 142 million depending on variables.
At first, it seemed like a natural progression for Coutinho's career, as Spanish football, based on his time there with Espanyol, could suit his silky playing style. However, things didn't turn out well for the Brazilian at the Camp Nou. Not even close.
Explaining what went wrong for Coutinho
The reasons why Coutinho ultimately failed at Barcelona are not just the result of his own actions or Barcelona's but rather a combination of both. It was a perfect storm of mistakes that eventually led to one of the worst transfers in the history of football.The first main reason was that Coutinho was never a very consistent player, which was shown during most of his career, and even after his time at Barcelona. So the Brazilian was capable of some moments of magic, like scoring some amazing goals, but he never made it on a regular basis. That is something that has plagued his career greatly over the years.
Furthermore, the people at Barcelona originally targeted him as a Neymar Jr. replacement only to then switch to him being an Andres Iniesta replacement. This is very important because it shows a lack of foresight and planning since, obviously, Neymar and Iniesta are very different players and roles, which would demand very different things from Coutinho.
There was also the element that Barcelona were going through a period of upheaval, with the squad not fully being rebuilt and still having to rely on the genius of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, which ultimately led to an aging attack. Coutinho wasn't dynamic or quick enough to play a key role in the squad, which was shown quite clearly over the years.
Of course, the element of what Barcelona paid for him didn't help the Brazilian, either. It was a huge sum for a footballer that was probably not worth that amount, which only added more pressure for him to be an instant hit and this led to a lot of fans not having a lot of patience with him.
It says a lot that Barcelona was already willing to let go of him in the summer of 2019, only a year and a half later. There is also the fact that Liverpool signed Alisson Becker and Virgil Van Dijk with the money of his sale, winning the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League in the coming years while having a much more balanced team thanks to his departure.
Philippe Coutinho here in Aston Villa
The aftermath
Coutinho was loaned to Bayern Munich for the 2019-20 season where he had subpar performances but still managed to score two goals in the legendary 8-2 victory against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, which didn't do him any favors with fans in Catalonia. However, the German giants didn't want to sign him, which was more evidence of his decline.After another subpar period at Barcelona, he was sold to Aston Villa where he started strongly but eventually disappeared more and more. He was therefore loaned to the Qatari club Al-Duhail for one season and, ahead of the 2024/205 season, has gone on a year-long loan to Vasco da Gama, the club where he began his senior career. Most likely the now 32-year-old will never return to the highest level of European football again.
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