Alex Ferguson sympathises with Liverpool over Philippe Coutinho transfer saga

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 31 August 2017

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Barcelona-linked playmaker Philippe Coutinho should stick with Liverpool as they 'made him the player he is today'.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that Liverpool have every right to feel 'disappointed' with Philippe Coutinho's recent behaviour.

The Brazilian playmaker has yet to feature for the Reds this season amid ongoing links with a move to Barcelona due to a 'stress-related' back injury.

Coutinho is also thought to have handed in a transfer request after seeing the first of Barca's three bids rejected earlier this month, but legendary United boss Ferguson believes that the 25-year-old is wrong to force an Anfield exit, while also insisting that the transfer window should close a few weeks earlier to avoid a similar situation in the future.

"I think strong management is crucial in this situation," he said at the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum. "Part of your job as a coach also is to educate your players' character so they have a responsibility to what they're doing. 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."

Coutinho, who has 42 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool, last featured for the club in their 3-0 pre-season win over Hertha Berlin on July 29.