Philippe Coutinho: 'Angry' Barcelona star messages Liverpool aces amid Jurgen Klopp claims
BARCELONA star Philippe Coutinho has reportedly vented his fury to former Liverpool team-mates after Jurgen Klopp claimed he did not follow orders at Anfield.
Keane: Time will tell if selling Coutinho was good for Liverpool
Coutinho quit Liverpool for Barcelona in January, completing a long-awaited £142m move to the Nou Camp.
But the Reds have not suffered in his absence, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane continuing to shine.
Klopp discussed Firmino taking on Coutinho's role as Liverpool's talisman this week, saying: "That is completely normal. You saw our games when Phil came deep in centre mid. We didn’t want him to come deep all the time to be honest, it was more of a natural thing.
"You want him to be a 10, but with Phil we were giving him a four-yard pass and you don’t need that. Now we don’t have this dominant player – ‘Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me’ – that’s how it is.
"I don’t want to this to be misunderstood. It was really good, that’s why Phil is the player he is, but now we we cannot do that any more, it makes us a little bit more unpredictable."
The latest reports from Spain suggest Klopp's comments haven't gone down at all well with Coutinho.
According to Don Balon, the playmaker is 'tremendously angry' and has sent messages to some of his former Liverpool team-mates.
It is claimed that he told them he played that way because Klopp had told him to do so.
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Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool for Barcelona during the January transfer window
Moreno explains 'struggle' between Coutinho and Messi
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Jurgen Klopp claimed Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho did not follow orders at Liverpool
Don Balon indicate relations between Coutinho and Klopp were frosty even before this week's comments.
They hint that Klopp was unhappy about Coutinho jumping ship after he'd said the Brazilian would stay.
Coutinho, meanwhile, will be looking to put the alleged anger behind him when Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid today.
Ernesto Valverde's men sit five points clear of Diego Simeone's side going into the top-of-the-table La Liga showdown.