Sir Alex Ferguson, just like most of us who have been paying attention, has a negative opinion of the protracted Philippe Coutinho transfer saga. The good news is that it’s over, one way or another, whether he stays at Liverpool or moves to Barcelona, by tomorrow when the La Liga deadline closes. Sad that it has become this tedious and unresolved, but it’s only a matter of hours now until we reach closure.
Ferguson expressed his disappointment while speaking at the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum in Nyon, Switzerland today.
“I think strong management is crucial in this situation. Part of your job as a coach also is to educate your players’ character so they have a responsibility to what they’re doing,” Fergie said.
“Obviously, in some cases, that is changing a bit. It’s disappointing because I’m sure that, in the case of Liverpool, they did a very good job in making Coutinho the player he is today.
“So, it’s a bit disappointing but you have to deal with it and the transfer window doesn’t help in that situation. If it closed in July, Coutinho would have continued playing and it would have been gone. The matter would have been over.”
“The recommendation we look at is to close the window before the season starts, so everyone knows which players they’ve got and aren’t waiting to see what the first results are going to be.”
Barca have reportedly bid three times, with the latest amount being £138 million, for Coutinho. The Brazilian midfielder has yet to play for the Reds this season.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.