Liverpool could not afford to re-sign Philippe Coutinho, says Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has revealed Liverpool did not pursue Philippe Coutinho this summer as they could not afford him.

The Spanish champions offloaded Coutinho to Bayern Munich on loan with an option to buy last week, but it appears the Bavarians weren’t the only club interested in securing his signature.

How did Liverpool spend the Coutinho money? Five things to know…

• Liverpool received an initial £105m for Coutinho.
• They immediately reinvested £75m of that into Virgil van Dijk.
• The Reds then spent a further £140m on Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Naby Keita.
• These four signings were integral in winning Klopp his first Champions League.
• Liverpool spent nothing on senior players this summer.

In an interview with Goal, Klopp suggested that Liverpool could not afford to re-sign Coutinho this summer even if they wanted to.

He said: “It sounds a bit strange, but we could not afford it, we have already spent the cash that we got for him.

“We were reluctant to hand him over, but Barcelona forced us with money, so to speak.

“The move makes sense for both sides. He’s a super player and a great boy. He is a world-class footballer who can change games in the right environment.”

Bayern will be hoping that Coutinho can rediscover some of his scintillating 2017/18 form when he registered 15 goals and 11 goals in a season spent in England then Spain.

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

“Coutinho will be the best in Germany”

One player in the Bundesliga who already knows plenty about the midfielder is Marko Grujic.

Grujic is still a Liverpool player but is spending the coming season on loan in the German capital playing for Hertha. Coutinho may be playing in a side with Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich, but Grujic believes the Brazilian is the biggest coup in the league.

Talking to Bild, he said: “It’s a big thing for the whole Bundesliga to have the possibility to see Coutinho play now.

“He is a special and exciting player, he does crazy things. He got incredible tricks and skills in his locker. I enjoyed every training session with him in Liverpool. He will be by far the best footballer in Germany.”

Bayern are hoping to win their eighth Bundesliga in a row and the signing of Coutinho has already seemingly given them a big advantage over their rivals.