"Things didn’t go as I imagined" - Phillipe Coutinho sheds light on his time at Barcelona after failing to live up to €160 million price tag

Former Liverpool superstar Philippe Coutinho has opened up on his failure to live up to his massive price tag at Barcelona. The Brazil international joined the Catalan giants for a huge reported transfer fee of an initial £105 million rising to £142 million with add-ons in January 2018.

However, the 31-year-old could never really replicate his Liverpool form at Camp Nou and was arguably one of the biggest flops of all time. The flamboyant attacking midfielder has however insisted that he has no regrets over joining his dream club Barcelona.

Coutinho has claimed that things just did not work out for him at the Catalan club despite him giving his everything. The Al-Duhail star told Sport, as quoted by Barca Universal:

“Do I regret joining Barça? No. At no time. Things didn’t go as I imagined, as people expected, as I expected because I am the first to demand myself in the field, I tell myself that I have to give more in the field, etc.”

The former Liverpool attacked added:

“I tried everything, I have always been very professional and I do not regret anything. It was always my dream to play for Barça. I enjoyed it, I was able to meet many people, and win titles and it will always be in the history of my life.”

Coutinho made only 106 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 25 times while producing 14 assists, and won four trophies including two La Liga titles. He was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich and Aston Villa respectively before joining the latter permanently.

Coutinho did show signs of encouragement following his move to Aston Villa but faded after a while. He is currently on loan at Qatari side Al-Duhail and has scored four times in 12 games while producing one assist.

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Manchester United target will be happy to rejoin Barcelona

Nice defender Jean Clair-Todibo has claimed that he would be happy to move back to Barcelona for a second stint at the Catalan club. The French defender has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League of late with Manchester United and Chelsea reportedly keen on his services.

The highly-regarded defender was formerly on the books of Barca and made five appearances for the club before being shipped out on loan to Schalke, Benfica and Nice, respectively. He eventually moved permanently to Nice where he has established himself as a solid centre-back.

Todibo has claimed that he would be happy to rejoin the Blaugrana if he is wanted by the club. The 24-year-old said (via X handle Barca Centre):

"A return to Barcelona? Why not? I don't regret it, not at all. FC Barcelona is still a great experience. I learned a lot from Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti, Clément Lenglet... It did me good. I discovered the very, very high level."

He added:

"I didn't have the desired minutes because there were very, very big players in front of me. I also had a coach, Ernesto Valverde, who was under pressure, so it was normal for him to put Gerard Piqué instead of an inexperienced 19-year-old."

Todibo has made a total of 124 appearances for Nice till date and has also been capped twice by France.