Any Liverpool fans who even lightly followed the Catalan coverage of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona will have been well aware that Sport weren’t going to let the matter rest just because the transfer window has closed.
Liverpool were going to be made to pay, having already spent over a month being told what their place in world football is.
In early August, Catalan newspaper Sport were in cocky mode: ‘Little by little the work of representatives of the Catalan club has been undermining the leaders of Liverpool.
‘It should not be forgotten that the British club is run by a fund, Fenway Sports Group, led by John Henry, which is basically driven by money and profits. Already in January he was about to sell the club to a Chinese conglomerate for €900m.’’
Sport explained that Liverpool, essentially being a selling club, would have to let Coutinho go once an offer touched €100m.
Then there was the frankly embarrassing suggestion that Barcelona should target Naby Keita, just to annoy Liverpool, and as Coutinho’s move to Barcelona was looking unlikely, Sport dropped any idea of sense. It was openly admitted that a reason for targeting Thomas Lemar would be to teach Liverpool a lesson.
Coutinho was then the centre of a ‘funeral atmosphere’ during national duty with Brazil. He was ‘crestfallen as never before’ and now faced taking a ‘flight he never wanted’ back to owners Liverpool.
Blah, blah, blah.
Now Sport are trying to stir up trouble between Liverpool supporters and Jurgen Klopp, or at least the idea of it.
‘The fans criticise Klopp for not starting Coutinho’
‘Coutinho reappeared in Liverpool against Sevilla, but the fans got angry with Klopp’
‘Liverpool fans are upset with their coach, Jurgen Klopp, for how he’s handling Coutinho’s case’
It’s probably best Sport drop this line of Liverpool knocking and try a new direction, because it’s not going to work.
