It was late December in 2017 and Jurgen Klopp asked himself three questions that would lead to the biggest decision of his Liverpool career.
Philippe Coutinho had been instrumental in firing Liverpool into the Champions League knockout phase, not least when he scored a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Spartak Moscow, but all was not well behind the scenes. Barcelona had come into view and the Brazilian’s head had turned.
Liverpool had seen off Barcelona three times during the previous transfer window and rejected a written transfer request from Coutinho. The last thing they wanted was to lose a player of such class.
Jurgen Klopp made an astute decision to sell Phillipe Coutinho in January 2018
The Brazilian became the most expensive player in the history of the La Liga giants
Coutinho's time in Catalonia hasn't been easy, but he hit a crucial goal in the quarter-finals
Klopp considered his options. Did it make sense to keep an unhappy player? No. Did Klopp believe he could still use him? No. Would Coutinho be able to help Liverpool if a fourth Barcelona bid was rejected? No.
Armed with those answers, Klopp knew what his club had to do. The decision was not going to be popular but so much of that saga showed how Liverpool’s image had changed.
When Klopp let it be known he was happy for Coutinho to be sold, he, Michael Edwards, the club’s sporting director, and Mike Gordon, the president of Fenway Sports Group, were determined to send a message that they would not be pushed around.
Jurgen Klopp realised it did not make sense to keep an unhappy player at Anfield
Klopp sanctioned Coutinho's sale and turned his Liverpool into an even more competitive side
Barcelona had taken their players before but Javier Mascherano (£20million) and Luis Suarez (£75m) went on to new levels and left Liverpool looking like they had been short-changed. This was never going to happen with Coutinho.
Edwards not only squeezed £146m from Barcelona — the third biggest transfer fee in history — but got them to agree to a £100m premium if they were to sign another Liverpool player before summer 2020.
