He was a rising star in Anfield but at the start of 2018, Philippe Coutinho made the fateful decision of joining Barcelona and leaving Liverpool behind. Since then, the Jurgen Klopp's side surged to winning club honors, capturing the Champions League first and possibly the Premier League once the games resume.
In contrast, the Brazilian attacker failed to replicate his success in the Premier League. He was not quite impressive in Camp Nou so after a season, Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern Munich.
The midfielder is not expected to stay long in Bundesliga as well. Reports said the German giants are not keen to sign him on a permanent deal so for the upcoming campaign, he'll be back with Barcelona.
However, the plan for Coutinho in Spain is not too exciting as well. The club is on a mini-rebuild mode and to generate cash, selling players is on the cards and Coutinho is on the list. In other words, the player once acquired for £142 million is no longer with the same high value.
It appeared Coutinho knows where things stand for him at present. According to Give Me Sport, "Coutinho has reportedly revealed to his closest friends that he regrets leaving Liverpool."
If true, the Brazilian star seemed to have realized that he made the wrong move parting ways with the Reds. He admitted, per the same report: "His time at Anfield was the happiest he has been in his entire illustrious career."
Getting back to his old glory will not be easy for Coutinho even as there are four clubs likely willing to give him a try. The same report said the Premier League might just welcome back the attacker after his spell at Bayern as there are no signs the Germans want him back next campaign.
To be clear, however, none of the English teams monitoring Coutinho include Liverpool, somehow suggesting that Klopp has no immediate plans of seeing his return to Anfield. And the clubs looking to sign the midfielder can only offer loan deals, indicating they first want to test how the Brazilian will perform.
In any case, Liverpool Echo said only an uncertain future awaits Coutinho and that his situation was further complicated by the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The European leagues are in a suspended state and it will be a mess for players like Coutinho, whose fate hang in the balance due to uncertainties on their stature.
It can be assumed that Coutinho is no longer wanted both in Barcelona and in Munich so his fate will only be decided when football business returns to the usual mode in Europe. So it seemed right for the Brazilian to think now that his exit from Liverpool two years ago was a mistake.
