Former Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan in the winter of 2013 and was a mainstay of the team before Jurgen Klopp took over.Nicknamed the “Little Magician,” Coutinho scored 54 goals and provided 45 assists with his ball-attracting dribbling and surprising passing ability.
The midfielder, who also continued to contribute in attack for the Brazilian national team with 21 goals in 68 games, moved to Barcelona in the winter of 2018 in exchange for a large transfer fee.
Despite his eagerness to play in Spain, the midfielder failed to produce any significant results and ironically won the Champions League with his loan club Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season.
At Barcelona, he continued to be targeted for sale every year, but the high transfer fee and salary were a bottleneck, and time passed without a buyer being found. Eventually, he joined Aston Villa, led by former England midfielder Steven Gerrard, with whom he played with during his playing days, in the summer of 2022 after a six-month loan.
However, when his trusted coach was dismissed due to poor results, his successor, Unai Emery, did not have faith in him, and he was loaned to Al Duhail in Qatar for one year during the transfer market last summer.
In the Middle East, he failed to make a full recovery, partly due to injury, and his performances have been disappointing.
The rest of his career went downhill, so much so that his brilliant career at Anfield was hazy. Objectively, the move to Barcelona seemed like the wrong decision, but the player himself has stated that he does not regret the choice he made at the time and that he has spun many different stories in La Liga.
“No, At no time [does he have any regret].”
“Things did not turn out as I imagined, as people expected, as I expected because I am the first to demand of myself on the field, I tell myself that I have to give more on the field. I tried everything, I have always been very professional and I don’t regret anything.
“It was always my dream to play for Barca and I went there, I enjoyed it, I was able to meet many people, win titles and it will always be in the story of my life.
“Nothing. I would not change anything. Going back is impossible, but as I said I don’t regret anything, I always gave my best in training as I do here and as I did last year and as I will do next year. If things fit well, great and if not, patience.”
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