Liverpool dealt unwanted headache on eve of Champions League opener

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Liverpool are preparing for their opening Champions League game of the season as they take on Sevilla at Anfield on Wednesday night.

While Jurgen Klopp would have hoped to have been able to merely focus on getting his players ready to bounce back from their heavy defeat to Man City at the weekend, he’ll have to ensure that they avoid being distracted by outside sources.

According to Don Balon, as re-reported by The Express, Barcelona have sent a very clear request to Philippe Coutinho, through unofficial channels, to refuse to play in the Champions League.

This is with the intention of reigniting their interest in the Brazilian playmaker in the January transfer window, and so if he was to feature for Liverpool in midweek, he would be cup-tied in Europe for the Catalan giants in the second half of the campaign.

It’s claimed that it’s now down to Coutinho himself to determine how he wants the situation to play out. It’s noted that he was left upset and disappointed that Barcelona weren’t able to live up to their promise of agreeing on a deal and taking him to the Nou Camp prior to the summer transfer window deadline.

In turn, the expectation for most was that he would now reintegrate at Liverpool, come back from his hiatus due to a back problem and prove his professionalism and commitment to the Merseyside giants by playing an influential role in their success this season.

Now Don Balón ask the question as to whether or not he will fulfil the request, which would undoubtedly make Jurgen Klopp’s life a lot trickier as this is surely something that he doesn’t want to have to deal with as in an ideal world, one of his most important players would now just be purely focused on Liverpool.

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