Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has questioned Philippe Coutinho’s motivations over his decision to leave Liverpool last January.
The Brazilian moved to Barcelona for £142 million in the winter of 2018, but has been linked with a transfer away from the Catalan giants, as reported by Sky Sports.
The report claims that Coutinho was being monitored by Manchester United, but will not join the Red Devils out of respect for his former employers at Anfield.
But Solhekol took exception to this suggestion.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, he said: “Nice of Philippe Coutinho to rule out a move to Manchester United out of respect for Liverpool.
“But where was his respect for Liverpool when he put in a transfer request and forced through a move to Barcelona?”
Nice of Philippe Coutinho to rule out a move to Manchester United out of respect for Liverpool. But where was his respect for Liverpool when he put in a transfer request and forced through a move to Barcelona?
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) June 17, 2019
OPINION
This is a very astute point from Solhekol. Loyalty only seems to matter when it suits in the modern game. Coutinho can claim to love and respect Liverpool all he wants, but at the end of the day, he was the one who hankered on for a move away from Anfield when he was arguably the Reds’ most important player. As it happens, Liverpool are arguably better off without him, with Virgil van Dijk and Alisson coming in off the back of his hefty transfer fee to give the Reds some much needed solidity. In that regard, Coutinho did the Kop a favour, but nobody could have known that at the time, and his willingness to walk away was hardly the behaviour of a man with a great love for the team. Turning his nose up at Old Trafford will be appreciated, but in the grand scheme of things, it matters for very little.
