FC Barcelona, after signing Dembele had their eyes set on adding another big gun to their lineup. They also had to look for someone who could replace the La Masia legend, Iniesta with his departure closing in. There was only player that ticked all the boxes, the Brazilian Beast- Philippe Coutinho.
FC Barcelona were pursuing Coutinho during the summer transfer, but the manager back at Anfield (Liverpool)- Klopp, wasn’t willing to sell his best player yet. Barcelona started their bid for Coutinho very high and they kept going higher with each rejection throughout the summer transfer window, but all in vain.
The new soccer season started on a high for Barcelona, with them winning or drawing every single La Liga game. They were way ahead of all the other teams, but something was missing. Dembele(19) wasn’t experienced enough for the big games, and also got injured really soon. Barcelona pulled through the first half of the season going unbeaten.
The winter transfer window though, was a make or break situation for the board as they still had their eyes set on Coutinho. They started bidding again and according to reports, Coutinho too, expressed his wish to move to Barcelona to his manager. Apparently, Barcelona started contacting the player without Liverpool FC knowing about it, this move deemed very controversial, since it is not in the good interest of the soccer clubs. Liverpool FC kept rejecting all offers from Barcelona and the transfer window was almost over. But, somehow Barcelona raised enough money and Coutinho putting in 11.5 million euros to fuel his transfer were able to pay his buyout clause of 160 million euros, making it the second most expensive transfer ever.
The arrival of Coutinho to Barcelona helped them cruise through La Liga, going unbeaten for 36 games. He played a crucial role in helping Barcelona win the double ( La Liga and Copa Del Rey).
The Brazilian put up a brilliant performance finishing the season on a high. He also played a crucial role for Brazil during the world cup and was arguably Brazil’s best player this time around, scoring spectacular goals and assisting a number of times.
With the departure of Iniesta by the end of the season, a lot rests on Coutinho’s shoulders, playing at the core of Barcelona’s formation. He was also recently given Barcelona’s jersey NO.7 crowning him one of the most important players on the team after Messi.
The 2018/19 season looks promising for Barcelona and Coutinho, he still has a lot to offer that we haven’t seen. It seems like he would stay at the club for a pretty long time, but nothing can be said in today’s world with the number of shocking transfers going up by the season.
I’m not a big follower of professional soccer, outside of the world cup, but I have heard of a number of these transfers on ESPN. It seems to me that there is less of an emphasis on loyalty in the soccer world than in sports in America, namely the NFL and NBA. There seems to be a notion in those leagues that players should remain loyal to the team that drafted them, and even be willing to take a pay cut to stay with that team. Players that chase money or join an already dominant team are vilified across the country (see Kevin Durant), but this doesn’t seem to be the case in soccer. A player chipping in money to complete his own buyout would seemingly lead to his crucifixion by the American public if he did that in the NFL or NBA. I find this difference from sport to sport very interesting.
First off I love how unique your blog is and you really convey the opportunities and loses in professional soccer. For a person who doesn’t watch soccer very often, you convey the controversies behind soccer in such a precise and comfortable way , that allows the readers to comfortably read the blog without any prior information. Overall, really good blog post that, taught me a lot.