What’s the story?
Barcelona are unhappy with Neymar after he said in an interview that he would love to see fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho play for the Catalan club. Neymar had made the comments prior to Brazil’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay and it has reportedly not gone down well with the higher-ups at the Camp Nou.
In an interview with PokerStars, Neymar said that Liverpool’s 24-year-old midfielder would be an ideal fit in Barcelona’s squad.
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“A Premier League player that I would like to have in Barcelona is Coutinho,” Neymar had said.
“I believe Philippe Coutinho is a player that would totally fit in Barcelona.”
Also read: Coutinho loves playing with Barcelona star Neymar
In case you didn’t know...
Coutinho had only just signed a contract extension with Liverpool in January. Having signed for the Reds from Inter Milan in January 2013 for a fee of £8.5m, the Brazilian midfielder has impressed the club with his performances and has been on the rise.
This season, he has already scored 10 goals for club and country while also accumulating five assists in the league. The new contract he signed will see him stay at the club until the end of the 2021/22 season.
The heart of the matter
According to the Sunday Express, officials at the club are unhappy with Neymar because they believe it seems like Neymar is undervaluing the impact of Ivan Rakitic. If Coutinho were to arrive, he would be competing with the Croatian attacking midfielder for a spot in the starting lineup.
The 29-year-old has struggled for form of late and had a huge slump in form between late October and mid-February where he did not have a single goal or assist but picked up four yellow cards. Changes in the formation by Luis Enrique have also not helped Rakitic either.
Also read: Barcelona's 3-3-1-3 formation is exciting but also suicidal
On the other hand, Liverpool have shrugged off a poor start to the calendar year and have not got back into the top four. Although they have played two more games than Manchester United and Arsenal in fifth and sixth place, Jurgen Klopp’s side look set to qualify for the Champions League based on current form.
Barcelona have been linked with Coutinho in the past two windows but nothing concrete has materialised yet.
Video: Coutinho’s best goals at Liverpool
Author’s take
While Neymar would love to have Coutinho at Barcelona, the move may be a little too soon for the Brazilian. Jurgen Klopp has managed to get the best out of the youngster in the past couple of seasons and he will want to repay the faith shown in him by the German manager.
However, if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League yet again, Coutinho may be interested in a move to the Camp Nou and may force the Anfield club to listen to offers.
But Neymar has no business “tapping up” players with comments such as these. We’ve seen it all before in the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga that went on for two summers before he sealed his move from Arsenal following quotes made by Xavi and Gerard Pique.
