Jurgen Klopp, after finally completing the Philippe Coutinho transfer saga, stated that Liverpool did everything possible for the Brazilian to stay in England, but the player's desire to join Barcelona was too strong.
Barcelona yesterday announced on their official website that they had finally completed the deal with Liverpool for the acquisition of the 25-year-old midfielder. Coutinho cost the Catalans an impressive sum of 160 million euros, making him the second most expensive player in the world after Neymar.
J. Klopp said on Liverpool's official website: "Very reluctantly, but as a club and team, we have to say goodbye to a great friend, an amazing personality, and a fantastic player.
It's no secret that Philippe wanted to move to Barcelona since July. He strongly demanded that I give him permission to leave. The owners and even the players themselves knew that Coutinho's desire to leave was desperate.
However, despite that, we managed to keep the player during the summer transfer window hoping that we could persuade him to stay longer during the season.
I can say on behalf of myself and the whole club that we did everything to keep Philippe in the Liverpool team. But his mind was set on Barcelona. He was one hundred percent convinced that his and his family's future was in Barcelona.
It was his dream, and now I know that persuading him was simply impossible."
Liverpool acquired P. Coutinho in the winter of 2013 for 10 million euros. During his time with the club, the Brazilian played 200 matches and scored 54 goals, but he did not win any trophies with the club.
