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Philippe Coutinho today completed his transfer to Barcelona, sealing a move away from Liverpool that had been anticipated for several months. Coutinho's departure is a record transfer fee involving a British club.
Only the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris St Germain trumps the Coutinho deal and leaves Jurgen Klopp with £142 million to spend on new players.
Coutinho's departure is sure to disappoint many Liverpool fans and Klopp took a moment to explain why he sanctioned the transfer: “It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known.
“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.
“Despite that, we managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do.
“I can tell the Liverpool supporters that we, as a club, have done everything within our means to convince Philippe that remaining part of Liverpool FC was as attractive as moving to Spain.
“But he is 100 per cent certain his future – and that of his family – belongs at Barcelona.
“It is his dream and I am now convinced there is nothing left at our disposal to change his mind.
“Philippe has made a fantastic contribution to this club over his five years of service and as disappointed as we are he doesn’t want to extend that, the relationship we have for him means with a heavy heart we wish him well.”
Written by Ketan Patel
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