Hands Off Barca: Liverpool Fans Vote in Their Thousands to Show How Important Coutinho Is to Them

In recent days, Liverpool fans have nervously been refreshing Twitter after reports suggested that their talisman, Philippe Coutinho could be close to joining Barcelona.

With Blaugrana superstar Neymar rumoured to be keen on a £197m switch to Paris Saint-Germain, Ernesto Valverde's side want the Reds midfielder to replace his countryman or, better yet, to play alongside him.

Reds fans are desperate for Jurgen Klopp to keep hold of the Brazilian wizard and as such, Coutinho was voted as Liverpool's most important player.

Image by Danny Ryan

In fact, the former Inter Milan playmaker won by quite a landslide, taking over two-thirds of the vote.

Sadio Mane was the closest competitor with a measly 18%, despite the fact the Senegalese winger made it into the PFA Team of the Year and scored 13 league goals, the same haul as Coutinho.

Although, the Brazilian wizard did also manage seven assists, two more than the former Southampton man, so perhaps the result can be justified.

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Amazingly, club captain Jordan Henderson only received 5% of the votes, only 2% more than £37m arrival Mohamed Salah, who is yet to make a competitive appearance for the club.

James Milner's haul is understandable, given the fact that the Englishman may struggle to get into the first-team next season after the signing of Andrew Robertson at left-back.

Roberto Firmino received the same number as the versatile midfielder, despite the fact the striker scored 11 goals and assisted seven more in Premier League action last season.

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It is clear that Coutinho is the man viewed as the club's talisman and selling him to Barcelona would not only infuriate fans but it would be detrimental to Liverpool's progress.