Jurgen Klopp Admits Coutinho's Potential Liverpool Departure Is Out of His Hands
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that whether or not Philippe Coutinho is sold is out of his hands.
The Reds kicked off their Premier League campaign with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Watford, with victory snatched away from them in the dying minutes.
Klopp's men lined up without star man Coutinho as he missed out with an apparent back problem, but other factors would've seen the Brazilian withdrawn regardless.
The 25-year-old handed in a transfer request on the eve of Liverpool's opening game after a statement from the club's owners ensuring fans he wouldn't be sold for any price.
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Coutinho had previously been praised for his sportsmanship towards Liverpool for only moving if it suited both parties - but now his reputation on Merseyside is in tatters.
And following the game at Vicarage Road, Klopp has reiterated that he wants to keep Coutinho, and that only members of the board will sanction his sale.
"I've had no time to think about it today," the German told the Liverpool Echo.
"If I was upset, I'd tell the player himself. I didn't get it (the transfer request) but I can say something that's more important.
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“As a manager of a football club, I have bosses. That decide, for example, just in general, if we sell a player or we don't sell him. Then I have to accept it.
“If they don't sell him, then I am not involved any more. I'm responsible for all of our players, not just one or two or three, but all of them.
“I can't say anything about it, the only thing is I work with the players I have. That's what I'm always doing.
“I don't think (it changes anything). It was pretty clear what the club said about it. That's all.”
