Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool Coach, admits that Philippe Coutinho wanted to leave for Barcelona

The Liverpool coach, Jurgen Klopp, admitted that the Brazilian Philippe Coutinho has wanted to go to Barcelona for months and has been very insistent on forcing his departure to the Catalan team.

"It is no secret that Philippe wanted this transfer since July, when Barcelona showed interest," Klopp said in statements collected on Liverpool's website.

"Philippe was persistent with me, with the club owners, and even with his teammates. He was eager for this transfer to happen," he added.

Liverpool made a great deal with Coutinho

Liverpool made a great deal with Coutinho, whom they bought from Inter Milan in 2013 for around 10 million euros and now sell to Barça for 120 million, plus 40 in bonuses.

In preseason, Coutinho asked Liverpool to let him go to Barça, but the operation was finally frustrated by the economic demands of the Reds, who were reluctant to let go of one of their gems.

"We managed to keep the player here in the summer transfer window, hoping to convince him to stay and be part of what we are building," Klopp said.

"I can tell Liverpool fans that we, as a club, have done everything we could to convince Philippe to stay and be as attractive as going to Spain, but he was 100% sure that his future and that of his family was in Barcelona," he resigned.

"It's his dream. I'm convinced we did everything possible to change his mind," he said, highlighting the Brazilian player's "professionalism."