Jurgen Klopp has opened up on one of the most difficult moments of his Liverpool managerial tenure, revealing that the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January 2018 left him devastated.
Klopp stepped down from his role as Liverpool manager in the summer of 2024, bringing to an end a remarkable nine-year spell that saw him transform the club both on and off the pitch. During his tenure, Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 and ended a 30-year wait for a league title the following season.
most significant transfer dealings in the club’s modern history. From signing Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Virgil van Dijk to nurturing the rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the German was at the centre of Liverpool’s resurgence. But not every transfer brought satisfaction.
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Klopp revealed that selling Coutinho was one of the hardest moments of his managerial career.
“On the day we sold, lost Phil Coutinho, that was not a day that I thought, ‘Oh, good, we have the money’.
I lost the player I wanted to work with for the next 10 years, if you want. Yeah, we invested it smartly, that’s true.”
Coutinho’s journey at Liverpool had begun five years earlier. Signed from Inter Milan for just £8.5 million in January 2013, the Brazilian quickly became one of the Premier League’s most creative and exciting players. His flair, vision and ability to produce moments of magic made him a fan favourite and a central figure in Liverpool’s rebuild.
By 2017, however, his form had drawn serious attention from Barcelona. The Catalan giants made repeated attempts to sign him, submitting three separate bids during the summer window — all of which were rejected by Liverpool. The club stood firm, and Klopp insisted he wanted Coutinho to stay, seeing him as a key part of his long-term plans.
According to The Mirror, Klopp even pleaded with the midfielder to remain on Merseyside and cement his place in Liverpool folklore. He told him he could become a legend, even promising that a statue would one day be built in his honour. Klopp also warned him about what awaited in Spain that he risked becoming “just another player” at Barcelona.
But the lure of Camp Nou proved too strong. Coutinho, desperate to make the move, reportedly contributed £11.5 million of his own money to help facilitate the £142 million transfer a record-breaking deal for Liverpool at the time.
For Klopp, it was a bittersweet moment. Though the transfer fee was enormous and would later fund the signings of Van Dijk and Alisson Becker, the emotional loss of a player he admired deeply was difficult to take.
When the deal was confirmed in January 2018, Klopp spoke with great honesty about the circumstances surrounding Coutinho’s departure.
“It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known,” he said.
“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his team-mates that this was a move he was desperate to make happen.”
Klopp added:
“The club did everything within our means to convince Philippe that remaining part of Liverpool was as attractive as moving to Spain.
It is with great reluctance that we as a team and club – prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Coutinho.
The relationship we have for him means with a heavy heart we wish him well.”
Coutinho’s exit marked the end of an era, but it also inadvertently sparked the next phase of Liverpool’s evolution. The money generated from his sale was reinvested to strengthen key areas of the squad most notably in defence and goalkeeping paving the way for the team that would conquer Europe and England.
Even so, as Klopp’s latest comments make clear, the sense of loss still resonates. For all the trophies and success that followed, Coutinho’s departure remains one of those moments that underline the emotional cost of football management.
Klopp didn’t just lose a player that day he lost someone he had envisioned building his team around for the next decade.
“I lost the player I wanted to work with for the next 10 years,” he said simply. “It was never about the money.”
Even amid the trophies and accolades that defined his reign, Klopp’s reflections reveal a more human side to football’s relentless machinery a reminder that behind every deal and every decision, there are relationships that matter deeply.
Yet for the manager himself, the transaction was never about business. It was about connection, trust, and a belief in what Coutinho could have become had he stayed.
