Liverpool fans will no doubt be amused as Arsenal legend Ian Wright mocked Barcelona’s signing of Philippe Coutinho as the worst transfer deal he’s ever seen.
The former Premier League star thinks there’s no doubt Coutinho’s big-money move from Anfield to the Nou Camp is one of the maddest things he’s come across in football.
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Coutinho was a world class performer at Liverpool, so it’s little wonder Barcelona came calling and spent so much to sign him back in January 2018, with BBC Sport reporting at the time that he cost a whopping £142million.
The Brazil international ended up flopping big time at Barca, however, and lost his place in the side before going out on loan to Bayern Munich last season.
We saw a slight improvement from Coutinho in his time in the Bundesliga, and he even came back to haunt his parent club by scoring against them in that stunning 8-2 Champions League quarter-final victory.
Overall, Wright feels this makes it the worst transfer in football history.
Speaking on his podcast, he said: “One of the maddest things I’ve seen is Coutinho playing for Bayern, winning the Champions League and then going back to Barcelona.”
Co-host Musa Okwonga then puts it to Wright that it’s the worst transfer ever, saying: “That has to be the worst transfer of all time, just in terms of the amount spent, the 8-2 capped it off, it’s the worst transfer of all time.”
To which Wright responds: “Easily, surely. Easily!”
It didn’t look like it at the time, but Liverpool sold Coutinho at just the right time and will be so glad they took that gamble, as they also reinvested his transfer fee on top quality signings like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.
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