Philippe Coutinho has responded to speculation linking him with a possible transfer to Barcelona by stating that he is only focused on playing for Liverpool.
The 23-year-old Brazilian insists he’s happy at Anfield and isn’t looking at what might or might not happen in the future.
Reports in Spain, like the previous ones above, claim that the player is keen on the idea of a move to the Nou Camp due to his friendship with Neymar, although these suggestions have been played down.
We believe that there has been indirect / unofficial contact behind the scenes between representatives of the Catalan club and the player’s agent for some time but as yet there’s no sign of an offer from them. That line of communication remains.
However, while Liverpool owners FSG have a history of selling our best players, alarm bells are not sounding at the moment. Jürgen Klopp would throw a fit if he was to lose the highly-rated midfielder and selling him wouldn’t make such sense unless a silly offer came in.
In response to the Barcelona speculation, Coutinho told World Soccer magazine: “I just like to live in the moment. I am not looking ahead.
“Being here at Liverpool is a dream come true.
“I am already playing in the best league in the world and I have a number of years left on my contract that I only renewed last year.
“I am very happy and my focus is on helping Liverpool fight for trophies.”
Barcelona will of course continue to monitor his progress. He sounds happy enough but we never pay attention to such declarations. If Barca swooped, we think he’d jump at a move but at the present time there’s no suggestion of any formal approaches looming.
Turning back to Liverpool, Coutinho added: “Klopp has put his ideas forward and they are helping to make me an even better player.
“I have been lucky to work under some fine managers already in my career and they have each added an element to my game.
“The likes of Benitez, Pochettino and Dunga are great coaches, but I will always have a special gratitude to Brendan [Rodgers].
“He believed in me and brought me here. He gave me the opportunity to play for such a great club.”
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