Jürgen Klopp: “We Are Not a Selling Club”

It’s good to be backed by the boss. Before the summer rolled around Philippe Coutinho would have had full confidence that Jürgen Klopp would do everything possible to keep him happy at Liverpool for the foreseeable future. Barcelona’s bid of £72million doesn’t change that. It was rejected outright by Liverpool and while speaking to the press in Hong Kong, Klopp further underlined the club’s commitment to keeping hold of and nurturing it’s star players.

When asked if he could say, definitively, that Coutinho is not for sale, Klopp responded, “Yes, that’s what we can say. But that’s not since this morning or yesterday. It’s not been any different.

“Phil is a very important player for us. He’s trying to get back his rhythm but there’s no doubt about his quality. He’s very smart both offensively and defensively.”

Klopp sees more to come from Coutinho. He sees a talented player that he can still teach. And moreover, Klopp is seeking to elevate Liverpool back to the lofty heights of the game and he knows that the core group must remain intact.

“The nice news for us,” said Klopp, “is that he’s still young. He has improved a lot since I’ve been here and he can still improve a lot.

“I’m not surprised that any club is interested in players in Liverpool. The very important message is that we are not a selling club and that’s how it is.”

“We believe in working together and developing together. We want to make the next step together and for this we need to stay together.

“We have to create a situation where everybody is easily able to see which direction we want to go. It’s really positive. This is a fantastic club and it’s a good moment for Liverpool.”

Swatting Barcelona’s hand away from the Coutinho jar feels good. It almost feels like maybe it really is a good moment for Liverpool. It almost feels like we can be—gulp—happy?