![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/jurgen-klopps-warning-to-philippe-coutinho-rings-true-again-after-transfer-agreement/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Philippe-Coutinho-Jurgen-Klopp-Liverpool-790228.jpeg&description=Philippe Coutinho is on the verge of becoming the latest Premier League star to move to the Middle East after failing to impress new Aston Villa boss Unai Emery They are the words which will haunt Philippe Coutinho until the day he hangs up his boot. "Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour," he was told by Jurgen Klopp in January 2018, when trying to engineer a move out of Liverpool. "Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more." Coutinho duly ignored his advice, heading to the Nou Camp in a club record £142million deal. But rather than scale new heights alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Co, the Brazilian playmaker has never recaptured the form that regularly wowed crowds at Anfield. Indeed, after just 18 months with the Catalan giants, he was shipped out to Bayern on loan before returning to Spain, but was soon deemed surplus to requirements. In 2022 Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa came calling, giving the once-mercurial force a chance to revive his career in the Premier League. By the time Coutinho landed in Birmingham, his trophy cabinet had been undoubtedly boosted. Two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey with Barca, plus a Bundesliga and above all, a 2020 Champions League win with Bayern arguably justified him leaving Merseyside. But amid his haul of silverware, the notion that his individual star has faded was unavoidable. And for Barca, his contribution was scant return given the fee and an eye-watering contract worth a reported £480,000-a-week - and following an initial loan stint an eventual £17million move to Villa represented a monumental loss. Under Gerrard, there were flashes of the brilliance that once signified his play, but consistency lacked. And once his former teammate was dismissed last season, the arrival of Unai Emery produced an upturn in team form, but failed to spark a revival from Coutinho. HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Philippe Co){kind=link}
Philippe Coutinho is on the verge of becoming the latest Premier League star to move to the Middle East after failing to impress new Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
They are the words which will haunt Philippe Coutinho until the day he hangs up his boot.
“Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour,” he was told by Jurgen Klopp in January 2018, when trying to engineer a move out of Liverpool. “Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.”
Coutinho duly ignored his advice, heading to the Nou Camp in a club record £142million deal. But rather than scale new heights alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Co, the Brazilian playmaker has never recaptured the form that regularly wowed crowds at Anfield.
Indeed, after just 18 months with the Catalan giants, he was shipped out to Bayern on loan before returning to Spain, but was soon deemed surplus to requirements. In 2022 Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa came calling, giving the once-mercurial force a chance to revive his career in the Premier League.