The numbers behind Coutinho's Barcelona dream that turned to a nightmare

On January 6th 2018, Philippe Coutinho secured a dream move to Barcelona. Liverpool recouped £142m for the Brazil international, who moved to Anfield from Inter in January 2013 for a rumoured £8.5m. A tidy profit indeed, which they put to good use, signing Virgil van Dijk and Alisson to bolster their defence. 

For Coutinho, though, it marked what was expected to be a chapter in his career that would see him establish himself as one of the best in the world. Now one of the most expensive footballers in history, the attacker initially thrived in back in Spain. Yes, his debut was delayed until the end of January due to a thigh issue picked up in his medical, but Coutinho yielded a WhoScored rating of 7.66 in the second half of the 2017/18 LaLiga campaign. 

Eight goals and five assists was a fine return and it looked a matchmade in heaven for both player and club. However, while Coutinho then took his good form into the 2018 World Cup - he scored two and assisted two for Brazil to contribute towards a WhoScored rating of 7.60 - his first full season with Barcelona saw that dream rapidly turn into a nightmare. 

Coutinho may have excelled initially for the Blaugrana, yet five goals and two assists saw his mins per goal contribution drop from 100.3 mins to 289 minutes per goal or assist as he struggled to replicate his early Barcelona form. A significant dip in his WhoScored rating, down to 6.93, meant supporters were prepared to see the back Coutinho despite only one full campaign at Camp Nou. 

The numbers back up their reasoning, too, with Coutinho's successful dribbles per 90 dropping from 3.2 to 2.3. Not only was Coutinho not as successful with his quest to beat an opponent, but he was doing so with less regularity as his number of attempted dribbles per 90 fell from 5.3 to four and this unwillingness to try and ghost past a defender impacted fans' opinions of the 27-year-old. 

Barcelona supporters crave players who are prepared to routinely chance their luck against a defender and Coutinho's nervousness when one-on-one with an opponent meant his stock fell in Spain. As such, Coutinho's creative output dropped, with his key passes per 90 falling from two to 1.4. However, the number of shots per 90 rose from 2.6 to three, but crucially, so too did the number of shots blocked per 90, from 0.6 to 0.9. 

Clearly Coutinho was still confident in his ability to go for goal, but with his inconsistency to beat an opponent, his efforts were blocked more frequently as he failed to work the necessary space to get a good enough shot away. And with his number of passes per 90 rising from 56.2 to 61.7, it was feasible to suggest he was playing the safe option rather than looking to take a greater risk and, as such, fans became irked by Coutinho. 

The hope, then, was that Barcelona could look to cut their losses on Coutinho after just 18 months and a loan move to Bayern Munich paved the way for a possible exit, be it in the German side's decision to make his permanent or, at the very least, put the player in the shop window. Bayern elected against taking up an option to sign him, but Coutinho has at the very least succeeded in achieving the latter feat. 

A first team regular in the opening months of the season up until Niko Kovac's dismissal in November, Coutinho may have drifted in and out of the first team following Hansi Flick's appointment, yet he still boasts a respectable WhoScored rating of 7.27 with the Bundesliga powerhouse having scored eight and provided five assists. Despite the lack of game time, Coutinho is having a direct hand in a league goal every 99 minutes, a modest accomplishment all things considered. 

And with Barcelona keen on raising funds through the sales of fringe players this summer in order to pursue the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Neymar, a Premier League return is on the cards for Coutinho. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has already ruled out a move for Coutinho, but the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in the former Reds star. 

It's a shame for the player that his time with Barcelona looks to be ending on a sour note considering how hard Coutinho pushed to secure his holy grail switch, yet it is for the best for all if he does leave Camp Nou this summer rather than prolong a stay with a club where the board has already supposedly made its final decision. Yet as his 2017/18 form with both Liverpool and Barcelona showed, Coutinho has the ability to take the world by storm in the right environment.