WE’RE NOT A SELLING CLUB!
Klopp tells Barcelona to forget about signing Coutinho
JURGEN KLOPP says Philippe Coutinho is ‘not for sale’ — whatever Barcelona offer. The Anfield boss sent a strong message to the Catalan giants, who have already had a £72million bid dismissed.
Speaking after he had seen the 25-year-old Brazilian score the winner in their Premier League Asia Trophy victory over Leicester, Klopp — who also launched a scathing attack on referee Bobby Madley — said he had the final say over the player’s future.
‘If I say he is not for selling, he is not for selling,’ he declared. ‘There is nothing else to say. It’s a club decision, it’s my decision. That’s how it is.’
When asked if he had received assurances from the board that Coutinho would not be sold, Klopp responded: ‘I can say 20 times, he is not for sale. If you ask the other question the other way and I say, there has been no assurance, you make the story the other way. There is no story for me. Whatever happens from t hei r side, I say he is not for sale. The answer is — not for sale.’
Barcelona, who are set to pocket € 222m (£199m) from the staggering, world- record t ransfer of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, are expected to further test Liverpool’s resolve with a fresh bid which would go beyond the £75m they paid for Luis Suarez in 2014.
But Klopp, who saw Liverpool lose Raheem Sterling to Manchester City three months before his 2015 arrival on Merseyside, says things have now changed.
‘With Suarez I was far away,’ the former Borussia Dortmund manager said. ‘When the club sold Sterling I was maybe the last to know about it. So those situations have nothing to do with this one. We are approaching a very i mportant moment and we want to get better. For this we have to keep our key players. So that’s the answer.’
On Friday night, Klopp spoke to Coutinho at the Ritz Carlton hotel, where Liverpool have been staying during their trip to Hong Kong. But when asked what was said he responded: ‘It’s not for you.’
Klopp added that the player, who last season signed a deal to 2022, is happy on Merseyside. ‘Everyone knows that Phil Coutinho is a key player for us,’ he explained. ‘I know that he feels completely more than fine, comfortable — whatever — in Liverpool. He loves the club and the city — that’s clear.’
The German, however, was less complimentary about official Madley, claiming he missed two ‘obvious’ and ‘dangerous’ challenges on the Barcelona target.
Coutinho appeared to be fouled twice early on, once by Matty James and once by Islam Slimani, and Madley marched over to the t ouch-line where he was seen arguing with an animated Klopp. ‘I was not too happy about two decisions around Phil,’ explained Klopp. ‘ He ( Madley) told me that if I behave like I behaved today (in the Premier League) then I would have to go in the stands. I said: “If I behave like today then I go in the stand, no problem. But you have to change how you whistle”.’
Klopp was adamant the referee was wrong and that the fouls were ‘dangerous’ and ‘obvious’.
‘For me, it was a clear foul, 100 per cent,’ he said. ‘It’s dangerous. What can I do? Write a letter [saying] “by the way, that’s foul next time can you whistle?”’
Slimani had given Leicester the lead before Coutinho set up £36.9m new boy Mohamed Salah for the equaliser and won it with a stunning drive on the stroke of half-time.