Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool Decide Not To Buy Barcelona's 'Special Footballer' [Details]

Liverpool FC have reportedly decided not to buy FC Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho during the January transfer window.

Former Liverpool star Coutinho, who is looking to part ways with his current club Barcelona, is close to making his Premier League return and he has been in contact with Aston Villa. The Brazilian is more than willing to join the Villa Park side, which is 13th in the Premier League, reported Sky Sports.

Aston Villa contacted Coutinho's representatives again Friday to discuss a loan deal, including an option to buy but that won't be an obligation, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, who has a credible record in European transfer markets. However, Coutinho's salary is yet to be decided. The 29-year-old central midfielder is Barcelona's current highest earner as he receives a weekly wage of $513,885, according to salarysport.com.

A move to Aston Villa could reunite Coutinho with his former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who is the current head coach of The Villans.

While Gerrard refused to speak about Coutinho's possible move to Aston Villa, he heaped praise on his former colleague.

"He is someone I've got an incredible amount of respect for, but I don't want to add to speculation because he belongs to Barcelona. I don't think you get a nickname of 'The Magician' if you're not a special footballer. I've got nothing but positive things to say about the player. He's a friend of mine so if I'm asked the questions I can speak for as long as you want. But if you're trying to link it to any speculation or catch me out you're in for a long afternoon," BBC Sport quoted Gerrard as saying in an interview.

It was earlier reported that as many as three Premier League clubs were chasing Coutinho in the underway winter market. Apart from Liverpool and Aston Villa, Everton were also believed to be interested. However, there has been no update regarding the Goodison Park side's interest in the former Anfield player.

After starting his professional soccer career in Brazil, Coutinho moved to Europe as he was signed by Inter Milan in 2010. During his stint with the Serie A club, Coutinho was also sent on a season-long loan to La Liga's Espanyol.

Liverpool signed Coutinho from Inter Milan in the 2013 January transfer window and the player went on to establish himself as one of the key players of the side. He finished his Anfield career with 54 goals and 46 assists in 201 competitive matches.

While he had a great journey at Liverpool individually, he failed to win a single trophy. Coutinho forced himself out of Liverpool in January 2018 to join Barcelona for silverware, especially the UEFA Champions League.

Unfortunately, four seasons later, Coutinho is still not a regular starter at Camp Nou. He did win the European trophy but it was with Bayern Munich, where he spent a season on loan. Interestingly, Coutinho was involved in the Allianz Arena side's last three goals when they thrashed Barcelona 8-2 in the semi-final of the 2019-20 Champions League.