Philippe Coutinho Asks to Leave Liverpool FC

Less than 24-hours before opening kickoff and Philippe Coutinho drops an absolute bombshell on Liverpool. The Echo is now confirming that Coutinho has, in fact, asked to leave the club, although details are sketchy at this time.

Mere hours ago Liverpool reaffirmed their stance not to sell the player, which now seems to have triggered this more public request to leave. The request to leave the Merseyside club came via email in the last hour. This is different than the very public airing of grievances that Virgil van Dijk’s recent request took, but it is still not a good development (to say the least).

It is important to note that Liverpool are still under no obligation to sell, particularly at the the under-market-value offers that have thus far been tabled by the Catalan Giants. Moreover, a transfer request does not necessarily ensure that the player gets his move. Our very recent experience with Van Dijk shows as much.

On the other hand, this might add pressure on Liverpool to sell if Barcelona come back with a reasonable offer (not that such an offer can be made at this stage in the transfer window).

For now, Liverpool remain committed to not selling the player, irrespective of the recent request. Hold on to your butts, this is going to be a long August.