What went wrong for Coutinho in Barcelona?

COUTINHO'S DOWNFALL

Coutinho in Liverpool was an absolute genius, a true legend.

Back in 2018, the name Philippe Coutinho was a fan favorite in the city of Liverpool. Fans adored the little magician until Spanish giants started bidding on him.

Liverpool fans wanted their Brazilian hero to stay with them. Jurgen Klopp, the club manager advised Coutinho that if he stays there they will build a statue in his name but if he makes a move to Barcelona or Bayern he will be just another player for them
Despite all these advises and requests. Coutinho left anyway for FC Barcelona where he was welcomed with open arms.
Coutinho started well in his first season in La Liga, he jumped into the vacuum left by his national teammate Neymar Jr and Ousmane Dembele's injury.

He started the scoring goals and providing assists. He finished the season with 20 goals and 5 assists from 22 games. It was quite impressive for debut year and fans were all impressed by the new signing.

In his second season, his stats started dipping. With Valverde being uncertain about the player's position, it was difficult for Coutinho to showcase his talents.
He couldn't squeeze in the Midfield because Valverde preferred Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo who also became a fan favorite and Arthuro Vidal.
Forward was untouchable with Messi and Suarez up in the front. The due together had more goals than any other team in La Liga.
Later it came a battle between Coutinho and rejuvenated Dembele for the position.
Coutinho had the support of the fans even amidst poor performances. But after a few games, Catalan fans started showing their true colors and started criticizing the newcomer.

Valverde started keeping Coutinho on the bench and he completely lost his first-team position. After a 4 game of no show, Valverde decided to play Coutinho in the starting 11 and it paid off very well.

He provided an assist to Messi and Suarez. He also showcased a few skills which made the Catalan supporters chant his name. It must've felt like heaven for Coutinho to get support from the fans after a long spell of criticizing.

Another thing that played the role of villain in Coutinho in Barcelona was the pressure he was on. When he came to the club with the record-breaking 160 million transfer fee, he became Barcelona's all-time most expensive signing. This put a lot of pressure on the Little magician.
Another thing that weighed down the Brazilian was the comparison to the greatest Andres Iniesta, who had left for Japan in the year before Coutinho's arrival. Iniesta, being the most successful Spanish player ever, It was a big shoe for Coutinho to fill in.

One of the greatest challenges Coutinho had to face was to figure out a perfect position to play. Barcelona made a special position for Messi. But it wasn't at all possible for any manager to find a position like that for Coutinho when Messi was still in the team.

In Liverpool, he was a number 10 but Barcelona already had a number 10, and Coutinho's addition started to turn out as an unnecessary expense.

All these challenges were too overwhelming for the youngster. He played and excelled in a league like English Premier league but that confidence started dipping when he started getting booed by the fans and at the end of the season Barcelona management finally had to do it.

Philippe Coutinho, the most expensive signing in The Barcelona history was transferred to FC Bayern in a loan deal.