Philippe Coutinho gives brutally honest take on career after Liverpool - 'I just wasn't able to'

Philippe Coutinho gives brutally honest take on career after Liverpool - 'I just wasn't able to'

Philippe Coutinho has opened up on his Liverpool exit in 2018 and why his career has not worked out since leaving the Reds

Philippe Coutinho of Vasco looks on during the warm up before a Brasileirao 2024 match between Vasco and Juventude at Sao Januario Stadium (Image: 2024 Getty Images )

Philippe Coutinho has insisted he has no regrets about leaving Liverpool, admitting he just couldn’t say no to a dream move to Barcelona. The Brazilian left the Reds in a club-record £142m transfer to join the Catalans in January 2018.

However, his time at Camp Nou did not work out, with the 32-year-old ultimately failing to recapture the heights of his Liverpool career since leaving the Reds. And he has now opened up on his move to Barcelona and why it went wrong.

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“We had loads of conversations. At that time, I really wanted to move to Barcelona,” he recalled. “We had many discussions about staying, about leaving. But, eventually, the club (Liverpool) agreed to let me go and I joined Barcelona.

“The beginning was really good. My first six months at Barcelona were great. We won a title and I was playing really well.

“But the following season, after the World Cup, I was not in the same shape. My performances dipped and that was tough for me. I wanted to meet expectations, my own expectations as well but I just wasn’t able to.

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“That period was really challenging for me but I leaned on my family and in my faith, I’ve always believed in God. That helped me stay strong through it all.”

While Coutinho won La Liga with Barcelona in 2017/18 and 2018/19, he was deemed surplus to requirements after just 18 months. A loan move to Bayern Munich followed, but while he won the treble with the Bavarians, they decided against signing him permanently.

A serious knee injury then plagued him back at Camp Nou, before he was signed for Aston Villa by former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard. But the Brazil international is now back in his homeland, on loan at former club Vasco da Gama, after his move to Villa Park also went sour.

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And Coutinho is honest about how he has fared since leaving Liverpool, admitting the latter years of his career have not gone to plan.

“I needed to change teams, right? I wasn’t in Barcelona’s plans anymore,” he said. “I needed to play, right? And go to a club that wanted me.

“Well, it was mainly because of (Steven) Gerrard (that I joined Aston Villa). He was the coach. I remember he called me on the phone and we talked and saw that there was this possibility to go there on loan. It was great to go there but things also didn’t happen as we expected.

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“I had this dream to play for Barcelona. Then the opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t say ‘No’ to my dream.

“So, I have no regrets about everything I experienced, all the places I’ve been. I gave my all, was very professional and tried to do my best.

“It worked out well at some clubs, while not so much at others. But that’s football. But I don’t have any regrets, only thanks and gratitude for every club I’ve been at.”

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Coutinho will still have one year left on his Aston Villa contract when his loan stint at Vasco Da Gama comes to an end this summer. While it is unclear what the future holds for the Brazilian, he remains surplus to requirements at Villa Park.

Still only 32, retirement is perhaps not on the agenda yet. But he has an idea regarding what he wants to do when he hangs up his boots - take up a more hands-on role in his own foundation, ‘Instituto Philippe Coutinho’.

“When you are in that moment, especially when I had my injury, you end up disbelieving certain things, you have doubts,” he said on Premier League Stories . “But time has passed and thank God, I recovered and didn’t have any consequences from the surgeries I went through.

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“I haven’t really thought about what it will be like after I retire. I see myself here (at Instituto Philippe Coutinho), maybe working here with the children, alongside my brothers.”

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