Where did Liverpool’s former core, Coutinho, who is worth 135 million, go?

Liverpool this season was not optimistic and finally successfully seized the opportunity. Under the leadership of veterans such as Mohammed Salah and Van Dijk, they finally won the Premier League championship again after five years. However, after a burst of joy, the fans also received bad news, that is, the "Prince" Trent Alexander Arnold, who has been trained for more than 20 years and is loved by fans, is about to transfer, and he will leave the team in a free manner and play for Real Madrid. This time the fans were also very disappointed. After all, as one of the core members of the team for so many years, it is really unacceptable to leave in this way.

In fact, this is not the first time that Liverpool has been "robbed". Real Madrid alone has obtained stars such as McManaman and Michael Irving from them, which is undoubtedly a big blow to the team's future plans. And the player we are going to talk about today also left Liverpool at its peak, and he is Felipe Coutinho. During Liverpool's most difficult time, he repeatedly saved the team at critical moments with his superb skills and his shocking "Arrow-Throughout" shots. He even regarded him as the key core when Klopp took office. But when he was 26 years old, he chose to leave. Let’s take a look at how Coutinho’s development has been after leaving the Red Army!

joined Barcelona for a net worth of RMB 100 million, but was abandoned a year later.

In the 17-18 season, although he only played 20 games due to injury, Coutinho performed extremely well in these 20 games, contributing a total of 12 goals and 8 assists, and successfully helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final. In addition, Coutinho was also selected for the Brazilian national team this year and went to the World Cup in Russia with the team. Although he failed to help the team go further and eventually fell to the quarterfinals, Coutinho performed well at that time, with a total of 2 goals scored, and after the event, he was also selected as the best team in the World Cup. It was also thanks to his highlights throughout the year that Coutinho became one of the hottest stars in the frontcourt at that time. Therefore, La Liga giants Barcelona took a fancy to his ability, and Coutinho himself expressed his desire to join after contacting Barcelona. Finally, after some negotiation, Liverpool had no choice but to let him go. Fortunately, Barcelona did not let Liverpool suffer too much, and directly gave a transfer fee of 135 million euros, bringing Coutinho to Camp Nou.

However, although Coutinho's initial performance was quite satisfactory after coming to Barcelona, ​​as the season deepened, he became increasingly unacceptable to Barcelona's system. The team coach Valverde positioned him as a left winger on the court, and there was a functional overlap with the team's core Messi's "pseudo-nine" style. It was precisely because of this arrangement that Coutinho had a very difficult time playing, and his average touchdown average dropped sharply from Liverpool's per game to less than 45, and the proportion of touchdowns in the core area dropped from 32% to below 20%. Moreover, due to the increase in running distance and the need to undertake more defensive tasks, Coutinho's injuries have increased. As a result, in less than a year, he changed from his former Camp Nou darling to an abandoned son. In the summer of 2019, he was placed on the list of transactions and loans by Barcelona. In the end, he was loaned to Bundesliga overlord Bayern Munich by the team for 20 million euros.

2. A brief highlight moment, but he retreated from the altar due to serious injury.

In just less than a year, Coutinho was loaned by the team, and he was still the one who was a 100 million yuan figure, which made Coutinho feel very helpless. But after coming to Bayern, he was reused by then coach Frick, who let him take the initiative to get the ball in the midfield and serve as one of the core of the midfield, which really revitalized Coutinho. In the 19-20 season, this former "little magician" regained his creativity in Liverpool. He averaged 3.2 key passes per game in the Bundesliga, ranking second in the league. In the Champions League knockout stage, he even gave 5 assists. He also staged 2 shots and 1 pass in the Champions League knockout match against his old owner Barcelona, ​​helping Bayern beat Barcelona 8:2 and finally successfully reached the top of Europe. During the whole season, he played 38 times for Bayern, contributing 11 goals and 9 assists, and followed the team to win the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League triple-winning champions. There is no doubt that although he came here on loan, Coutinho has achieved extraordinary achievements.

But soon, with the loan contract expired, he returned to the Camp Nou, although he sent 2 goals and 2 assists in the 5 games since his return, which seemed to allow people to see his rise again. At that time, with his knee injury recurring in the game against Eibar at the end of 2020, he eventually had to undergo surgery. Not only was the season completely reimbursed, but he also basically announced the end of his Barcelona career. This is true. After returning from injury, Coutinho, who was no longer as good as before, was sent away by Barcelona in 2022. Although his identity was still on loan this time, he never returned to Barcelona. Those who stayed here made 106 appearances, contributing a total of 26 goals. And his next stop is the familiar Premier League arena, but the team he joined has become Aston Villa.

3. The state is declining, fading out of the mainstream league at the age of 31.

After coming to Villa, what was waiting for him here was former teammate Steve Gerrard. At this time, Gerrard had retired for many years and became Villa's head coach. Under Gerald, Coutinho briefly played a small highlight. When he made his debut against Manchester United, he contributed 1 goal and 1 assist when he came on as a substitute. Later, he defeated Leeds United and performed an outstanding performance of 1 goal and 2 assists, allowing people to vaguely see the omnipotent Kubi in Liverpool's era.. Such an outstanding performance completely touched Villa. A transfer fee of 20 million euros allowed Coutinho to stay in Villa. Unfortunately, before Coutinho could secure the team's core lineup, everything was pushed back and started over because of Gerald's dismissal. The newly appointed Emery focuses on the 4-2-3-1 formation. To maintain the strength of this formation, the winger needs to undertake high-intensity defensive tasks. Coutinho's defensive participation can be said to be the last place in the Premier League at that time, so it has become a loophole for the team. Moreover, the impact of the injury made him increasingly unable to do so. He made only 1 goal in the Premier League 20 appearances in the 22-23 season. As a result, he became an abandoned son again and was sent away by the team again. In the summer of 2023, Coutinho, who had completely lost his chance in Villa, was loaned to the Qatar League by the team. You should know that Coutinho was only 31 years old at the time. This was an age who could gain a foothold in the five major leagues, but he had to go to the low-level league to play football. Although he had 9 games and 4 goals redemption, even though his condition was still pretty good at that time, Coutinho had lost the opportunity to continue playing in the five major leagues. Last summer, Coutinho was loaned again, this time he returned to the Brazilian League, and the team he played for was where his dream began - Vascoda Gama. Perhaps it was because he returned to his hometown that Coutinho once again played the second spring of his career. He once contributed 10 goals and 3 assists in 18 games, and performed wonderful world-wide shots many times, winning unlimited applause from fans. Now, Coutinho, who is 33 years old, is likely to play in the Brazil League. Although he is still quite happy to play, but time has changed. If he is asked to choose again, will he decide to join Barcelona?