5 players Barcelona could have signed instead of Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona made Philippe Coutinho the most expensive signing in their history when they paid a whopping €160 million to lure him from Liverpool. The Brazilian arrived at Camp Nou with much fanfare in January 2018 and was heavily tipped to mark the start of another successful era at the club.
Unfortunately, Philippe Coutinho has so far failed to live up to expectations at Barcelona. The playmaker couldn't nail a spot for himself in the team under Ernesto Valverde and was loaned to Bayern Munich for the 2019-20 campaign as a result. He returned ahead of last season but an injury crisis kept him out of action for most of the term.
As the Brazilian's struggles continue, one can't help but imagine if Blaugrana had spent that money on another player instead. In fact, Barcelona had many decent options on the table before deciding to settle for the Brazilian. In this piece, we'll be taking a look at five of their alternative options at the time.
#5 Paul Pogba
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is one of the few players Barcelona could've signed instead of Philippe Coutinho. The Frenchman had been on Blaugrana's radar since his spectacular performance against them in the 2015 Champions League final.
Paul Pogba is the first Manchester United player to provide 4+ assists in a single Premier League game.
Outrageous. https://t.co/bbkuwDBMPS
There's no doubt Pogba has been one of the finest midfielders in Europe over the last couple of years. His ability to step up in big games, just as we witnessed in his performances for France at the World Cup in 2018, makes him a decent addition to any club.
The Frenchman would have probably cost Barcelona around the same figure that was paid to sign Philippe Coutinho, but would almost certainly have been a wiser investment. Besides being a world-class player, the Manchester United superstar can adapt to different teams and systems.
#4 Riyad Mahrez
Barcelona were linked with a swoop for Riyad Mahrez prior to their acquisition of Philippe Coutinho in January 2018. The Algerian winger was said to be keen on the move but the Catalan giants failed to make it happen.
Make that 60 goals 😎 twitter.com/goal/status/13…
Mahrez joined Manchester City instead in the summer of 2018 and went on to take his game to a whole new level at the Etihad Stadium. He's bagged an impressive 43 goals and 39 assists for the Cityzens in 151 appearances across all competitions so far. He has also started the current campaign on the front foot, finding the back of the net four times and setting up another two for Pep Guardiola's side.