Barcelona's Liverpool Champions League defeat is good news for Man Utd and Chelsea
BARCELONA's Champions League clash with Liverpool was good for Manchester United and Chelsea. Because transfer target for both teams, Philippe Coutinho, was abject in both games and now could be sold at the end of the season.
Barcelona: Philippe Coutinho is playing 'average' says Burley
Barcelona were sensationally dumped out of the Champions League by Liverpool on Tuesday, with the Catalan giants losing 4-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
It was a nightmare night for Ernesto Valverde and his side, with braces from Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum seeing the Reds through to a second consecutive European final.
When Barcelona went in for Coutinho in the summer of 2017, Liverpool managed to fend them off.
The Samba star was a key player for Jurgen Klopp and, at the time, was starring alongside Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in attack.
When Barcelona came calling again months late, however, Liverpool said they would on a deal - one one condition.
That they give them an eyewatering £142million. A fee that made Coutinho the second most-expensive footballer of all time.
For that amount, some would say the Barcelona star was doomed from the start. With a price tag that high, the pressure was going to be on straight from the off.
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But Coutinho has done little to justify that fee. When he dons Barca colours, he appears to go missing.
And patience over at Barcelona is running thin. They demanded bang for their buck but have barely seen the Brazil international shine.
Now, on the back of his performance against Liverpool at Anfield, transfer talk is set to intensify.
Express Sport understands United are interested in securing his signature as they plot a route back to the top.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer even refused to downplay talk of a move last month.
United will not be in the Champions League next season, instead strutting their stuff in the Europa League. But they have money in abundance and that makes a transfer a possibility.
Chelsea, too, are tracking him.
The Blues have him on their list of replacements for Eden Hazard, who is widely expected to join Real Madrid.
And now, on the back of Coutinho's latest drab Barcelona display, both teams will have even more encouragement going into the transfer window.