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Selling Philippe Coutinho has taken Liverpool to 'another level'
Philippe Coutinho left Anfield in January 2018.
Philippe Coutinho’s departure from Liverpool has taken the club to a new level, according to former Reds star Graeme Souness.
The Brazil international left Anfield for Barcelona in January 2018, with the Spanish champions forking out £142million to acquire his services.
Coutinho was at the centre of everything good Liverpool did on the pitch, so many expected the Reds to struggle when he left.
That, however, hasn’t been the case, with the Merseysiders winning the Champions League last season and missing out on Premier League glory by a solitary point.
It was wonderful business to sell Coutinho and buy those two, they’ve taken them on to another level
Souness has been thrilled by the effect the sale of Coutinho has had on his old side, in particular the fact it allowed them to sign Virgil van Dijk and Alisson from Southampton and Roma respectively.
During an appearance on Sky Sports, the Scot said: “It was wonderful business to sell Coutinho and buy those two, they’ve taken them on to another level.
“When you think [Loris] Karius, if Alisson plays they might have won it a couple of years ago.
‘You don’t win any big trophies unless you’ve got a proper goalkeeper. They now have one and what it does everyone is a bit more confident in the team.
“Liverpool are very dangerous because they don’t have to be at their best to win games because they’re rock-solid at the back.”
Whle his old side have gone from strength-to-strength since his exit, Coutinho has failed to make an impact at Barcelona.
The 27-year-old struggled to hold down a place in Barca’s starting XI and has been shipped out on loan to German champions Bayern Munich.
Coutinho and his Bayern team-mates will next be in action on Tuesday night, travelling to Athens to take on Olympiakos in their second Champions League group game of the season. Liverpool, meanwhile, well travel to Belgium to take on Genk.