Liverpool must use the £145million they received from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho much better than when they sold Luis Suarez, club legend Jamie Carragher has urged.
Barcelona confirmed the signing of Coutinho on Saturday night, bringing to an end a long-drawn saga for the player’s signature.
The deal, worth up to £145million with its additional clauses, puts Coutinho as the second most expensive player of all time, behind Neymar.
Carragher weighed into the discussion online, taking to Twitter to comment on how impressed he had been by Coutinho’s rise, while warning the club to reinvest the money better than they did following the sale of Luis Suarez.
‘Disappointed Coutinho has gone, never thought he’d turn into the player he’s become when I first played with him, but he’s been a great player these last few years. 142 million though! Just need to use the money better than we did when Suarez left!!,’ wrote Carragher.
Speaking of the big money move, another former pro – Frank Lampard – admitted he believes Barca had their heart set on getting their man, come what may.
‘Maybe they (Barcelona) needed to make a statement because of what happened with Neymar recently,’ Lampard said in the BT Sport studio during the half time interval of Norwich’s FA Cup tie with Chelsea.
‘Coutinho is a fantastic player and will be a great player for them, for sure, but he wanted to go and it’s important now for Liverpool to recruit well with that money,’ he added.
Chris Sutton, sitting alongside Lampard, added his concerns regarding how Liverpool now cope with the loss of their superstar.
‘It lessens their chances of finishing in the top four and (making) the Champions League. Would they have a better chance with Coutinho in the team? Absolutely,’ siad Sutton.
Liverpool officially announced the news of Coutinho’s departure on their official website, during which manager Jurgen Klopp offered his thoughts on the matter.
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It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known,’ said Klopp.
‘Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.
‘Despite that, we managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do,’ he added.
