The mercurial Brazilian Philippe Coutinho was offered to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City before ultimately departing Barcelona in favor of Bayern Munich this summer, according to MARCA.
Philippe Coutinho’s move away from Barcelona was one of the most-anticipated transfers of the summer, with the former Liverpool midfielder linked to Paris Saint-Germain and several Premier League clubs before heading to German champions Bayern.
One of those clubs, it has recently emerged, was Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, which would seem on paper to be a seamless transition from the possession-based style of Barcelona to the free-flowing attacking football played at the Etihad, but not all great moves on paper translate onto the pitch.
One such transfer was the January 2018 deal that saw Coutinho leave Anfield for Barcelona in the first place. An extremely creative player with incredible dribbling, great passing vision, and an eye for goal, the Brazilian seemed to be the ideal replacement for Andrés Iniesta.
More from Manchester City
- Manchester City and their enigmatic coach stand on the cusp of greatness
- Three challenges Manchester City might face in upcoming season
- 3 potential destinations for Raheem Sterling next season
- Manchester City officially announce Erling Haaland signing
- Gabriel Jesus set for Manchester City departure
However, a cup-tie restriction cost him his first Champions League knockout stage with the Blaugrana, and from that point, it simply never clicked for Coutinho at the Camp Nou. The main tactical issue with his stay in Catalonia was the fact that his best role, a number 10 playing behind a lone striker with two midfielders behind him, simply did not exist in Ernesto Valverde’s system.
This forced Coutinho out wide or deeper into midfield, where he struggled to find his footing before ultimately being cast off very quickly this summer. For a high-quality player bought for an initial fee of just under £135 million, the fourth-most expensive transfer of all time, it seemed like a low-risk, high-reward move for Guardiola to take a chance on the Brazilian this summer.
However, a move of this sort would be out of character for City. Although the Blues have spared no expense to bring in top-tier talent in recent years, they have tended to avoid splashing on big-name established players with high wages, instead of focusing on finding star young talent and moulding them into stars.
For example, although there was a systematic fit between City and Alexis Sánchez, once his wage demands exceeded what City were willing to pay, they allowed him to leave for Manchester United. The most-established star name City have signed during the Guardiola era is most likely Riyad Mahrez, who was signed from Leicester City last summer.
Therefore, although Coutinho was available for a loan fee of under eight million pounds with a reasonable option to buy of £120 million, paying a large portion of his exorbitant wages and fitting his star status into this City team could have been problematic.
In addition, the same tactical problem exists in that Guardiola’s City does not currently set up with a true number 10. Although City’s number eight attacking midfielders push far higher up the pitch and are tasked with less defensive duties than Barcelona’s midfield, suggesting that Coutinho could fill the role, he still would not be playing in his ideal position, with the freedom to roam across the attacking third.
Moreover, City have immense depth at the position with Kevin de Bruyne locked into the starting lineup every week that he is fit, with David Silva, İlkay Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden behind him. While Guardiola was initially rumored to be interested in signing another player in that role, namely Bruno Fernandes and João Félix, City ultimately decided that there was enough attacking depth at the club.
All in all, while the potential for Coutinho to play in Guardiola’s Manchester City is tantalizing on paper and a return to the Premier League, where he established himself as one of the world’s best creative player could have been just the reboot his career needed, it simply would not work in actuality.
While speculation is exciting, this is simply not how Manchester City operate their transfer business in 2019, and fans can have faith that Guardiola would not turn down the chance to sign a player of Coutinho’s quality without determining that it simply was not worth it.