After 201 appearances and 54 goals, Philippe Coutinho‘s five years at Anfield have come to an end, with Liverpool agreeing a £142 million deal with Barcelona.
The deal is expected to be confirmed late on Saturday, with the Brazilian travelling to the Spanish capital to complete the move.
Liverpool fans have reacted online, with opinions ranging from frustration at selling the club’s prized asset midway through the season, to being ambivalent and insisting we will be better off than when the likes of Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres left before.
This is why it's different to last time pic.twitter.com/0aoRkBHARp
— Paul Senior ? (@PaulSenior1) January 6, 2018
He’s not peak Gerrard. He’s not peak Suarez. We have great players without him, and will bring in great replacements.
Chill.
— Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) January 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/kearnsyLFC/status/949691041690644480
The £142m fee for Coutinho is greater than #lfc's total revenue for the 2006-07 financial year.
— Dave Phillips (@lovefutebol) January 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/Oliver__Bond/status/949684664012242944
Absolutely gutted. Selling our best player half way through the season with so much at stake is madness. Bullied into it when we held all the cards. There's no way LFC benefit from this.
— Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) January 6, 2018
One of the best players I've seen play in Red.. Gutted he's gone but life goes on..
— Mark Mc (@MarkmaccaMc) January 6, 2018
“Klopp did his best….the problem is that Coutinho don’t care whether or not Liverpool is relegated. I hate him not because he was wrong to go to Barcelona but why can’t he just be patient till then end of the season even when he knew quite well that we need him more than Barcelona this season.”
— Facebook comment
Coutinho superb this year. Excellent player to watch but still feel he could have handled himself better back in August too. Will be excellent fo Barca and have complete trust in Klopp replacing him. Onwards
— keith costigan (@KeithCostigan) January 6, 2018
Plenty of 'Liverpool have the talent to cope without Coutinho.' They do.. but important to remember players have been as good as they have – Ie Salah – because of Coutinho. Replacing him now is huge. #LFC
— Danny Gallagher (@Danny7Gallagher) January 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/_mattpk/status/949684872548888577
Can't blame him for wanting to go – he did five years without a trophy – but he gets the grace he left with. Fuck him.
— Karl (@TheCenci) January 6, 2018
Not sure selling one of your best (maybe best?) player mid-season is a particularly logical thing to do. Strange u-turn by the club from the summer. #Coutinho #LFC
— Matthew Wood (@MattWood23) January 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/Chris78Williams/status/949692160068202497
When Suarez went to Barca he took all of #LFC's hopes with him, to listen to the coaching staff afterwards.
Coutinho's exit, whilst disappointing, will not hit Liverpool as hard.
— Jim Boardman (@JimBoardman) January 6, 2018
“Strange timing, all around. The rest of the window will be very interesting in terms of whether we immediately invest in a replacement and a new keeper, or sit tight until the summer.”
— Facebook comment
https://twitter.com/thejamessutton/status/949690188745330689
The fab four is no more.
— Green Scouser (@Green_Scouser) January 6, 2018
Thanks for the memories Coutinho. I'll always remember the times you nearly won the league, Europa League and League Cup with us. Adios.
— Green Scouser (@Green_Scouser) January 6, 2018
Fan Comments