Phil Thompson questions Philippe Coutinho timing

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 06 January 2018

Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson questions the timing of Philippe Coutinho's £142m move to Barcelona due to his inability to play in the Champions League.

Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson has questioned why Philippe Coutinho was so eager to leave the club in January rather than waiting until the end of the season.

Coutinho has all but completed his £142m move to Barcelona, with both clubs confirming the agreement earlier today and only the formalities of the deal left to be thrashed out now.

However, the 25-year-old will be unable to play in the Champions League during the second half of the campaign having already featured in the competition for Liverpool this season, and Thompson suggested that Coutinho may even struggle to get into the Barcelona first team on a weekly basis.

"It's hard to get my head around what Philippe is going to gain because he can't play Champions League football for them, they are running away with the league, and he's got the World Cup at the end of the season. Will he play regularly every week at Barcelona? I'm not too sure. Philippe could have carried on [at Liverpool]. He could have been playing in the Champions League," Thompson told Sky Sports News.

"We've got a good draw, with the second leg at home, so you like to think there's a big chance of us being in the next round. You never know what might happen after that. It's a great opportunity for him to play every week, to play at the highest level with Liverpool. So I do scratch my head wondering.

"It's £145m, but I think that would have come at the end of the season anyway. Part of me was hoping that this got done now and he would go there in the summer, and then he gets his wish. But it's a fantastic deal. If it's a £145m, it is quite astonishing money. It will be more than welcome money.

"We've got a few stars, but he is so influential. As we have seen recently, he has been the captain of the side. That's the trust that the manager has in him. You just look at it now with Suarez going, Sterling moving on... players seem to get to those position then leave. It will be a big let-down. Adam Lallana is coming back to fitness, which helps, so maybe that was a little bit of the reason why they have done it."

Liverpool are thought to be on the verge of signing Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez as a replacement for Coutinho.