Barcelona’s immense financial turmoil happened due to a lot of reasons however, if we are to pinpoint three major events it would be the sale of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann. These players were brought into the club for huge amounts and a lot was expected from each of them. However, none of these players could live up to their expectations and their stay with the Catalan side was rather disastrous. Griezmann mentioned before that he wants to stay at Atletico Madrid while Dembele is making a fuss about the new contract offer made to him by Barca. However, Coutinho, who is now in Aston Villa, has said that he does not regret his time with the club.
In a conversation with sports media house, ESPN, the Brazillian maestro talked about how he is enjoying life in England again. He talked about Steven Gerrard and seems to be very happy to reunite with him again. He used to play with the Liverpool legend in the Merseyside team and now he is being managed by Gerrard.
Philippe Coutinho doesn’t regret joining Barcelona
When asked about his time at Barca and whether he regretted it or not, he replied,
"“At certain times we have to make decisions, and one of my big dreams was to play for Barcelona. At that moment I decided to make that decision, but always with great affection, respect and gratitude for Liverpool and for the friendships over the years I’ve been in the club. At that moment I had a decision to make and I don’t regret it.”Source ESPN"
Coutinho was never really a part of the Barca team as his numerous injuries and loan spells meant that he could never really connect with the team. Even when he was fit and playing, he rarely showed his true self and in fact, he played better at Bayern Munich where he won the prestigious UEFA Champions League. He is now performing quite well at his new club and if Villa buys him for good, it would be a good deal for the Catalans.
Did Barcelona fail to properly utilize Philippe Coutinho?