Philippe Coutinho has revealed that he doesn’t regret leaving Liverpool to join Barcelona despite the fact that the move has been a disaster. The Brazilian playmaker is currently on loan at Premier League side Aston Villa until the end of the season and has a year to run on his Barcelona contract after that.
“I don’t regret it,” Coutinho said as per Mundo Deportivo. “At certain times in life you have to make decisions and one of my biggest dreams was to play for Barcelona. It was at that moment that I made the decision but always with a lot of love, respect and gratitude for Liverpool and the friendships that I made there.”
Coutinho cost Barcelona a fixed fee of €120m plus €40m in variables. This is his second spell on loan away from Camp Nou after spending the 2019/20 campaign in Germany with Bayern Munich. It’s in the Premier League, however, that he’s played his best football and he’s pleased to be working with Steven Gerrard.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “It was my wish to play again in England and in the Premier League. I’ve gotten this opportunity and I’m very happy. It’s what I wanted. I’ve been working hard every day to play well and help the club get good results.”
Gerrard took over from Dean Smith earlier in the season and has injected fresh enthusiasm into the club, although results have tailed off slightly in recent times. They’re currently 13th in the league table, seven points clear of the relegation zone and 18 off a place in the Europa League.