Liverpool legend John Barnes believes that Philippe Coutinho wants to move to Barcelona, citing a lack of celebration as the Brazilian curled home a quite brilliant long range strike in a pre-season friendly against Leicester.
Coutinho has been subject to intense interest from Barcelona, with the Spanish club having already had an €80m bid knocked back this summer. Speculation over the ex-Inter and Vasco playmaker’s future continues.
But Barnes thinks Coutinho may be angling for a move, telling ESPN, “You could tell by the way he reacted after he scored, with no celebration or anything, that something isn’t quite right with Philippe at Liverpool.
“It would be great if Liverpool keep him, but if he goes, I wish him all the best. Jurgen Klopp still has a good squad, so he will maximise the potential of the squad without Coutinho. We’d like him to stay, but if he goes Klopp will still find a way of being competitive.”
Liverpool have repeatedly insisted that Coutinho is not for sale at any price, having tied the player down to a long term contract without release clauses back in January. But Barcelona are still expected to return with another bid.
