Barcelona News: Philippe Coutinho departure 'changed the way we played football', says Liverpool CEO
Liverpool CEO Peter Moore has spoken about the impact that Philippe Coutinho's big-money move away from Anfield had on the club and how it enabled them to make changes for the benefit of the team.
The Brazilian, once a fan-favourite in Liverpool, forced his way out of Merseyside to seal a dream move to FC Barcelona in a deal which is believed to be in the region of €160m. What followed was a significant shift in power and Liverpool decimated everyone in their path to reach two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals, losing the first to Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid and winning the second against Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, Barcelona were eliminated in the semi-finals in eerily similar fashions two consecutive times, and Coutinho's predicament at the Nou Camp went from bad to worse due to his poor form and the level of competition at the club. He has played a total of 76 games for the Catalan giants, scoring 21 goals and setting up a further 11.
Moore was quoted by the Mirror saying,
"When Philippe Coutinho left there was a change, not only to the structure of the team but to the way we played football.
"If you recall, when he left two years ago, then it was a complete change of style of play and we [hardly] lost a game over the balance of the season.
"No disrespect to Philippe but he had a different style of play...The money came in and the money we got from Barcelona then helped fund Alisson Becker."
Liverpool are currently the runaway leaders of the Premier League sitting 22 points clear at the summit and are firmly placed to defend their European crown as well.
Meanwhile, Coutinho's future hangs in the balance as it is uncertain as to whether FC Bayern Munich will exercise the option to purchase the Brazilian, who is currently on loan from the Blaugrana.