It was inevitable.
Whether in January or in the summer, it felt inevitable that Philippe Coutinho would eventually complete his move to Barcelona for an astronomical fee.
Reports on Saturday afternoon announced that a fee of £142m/€160m had been agreed with an official announcement coming tonight, or tomorrow.
Barcelona have their long-term heir to Andrés Iniesta's throne, and Liverpool are losing their most talented player midway through the season. The fans' reaction was mixed to say the least.
Some wished him well and appreciated everything the Brazilian gave to Liverpool during his 5 years at the club since he arrived in January 2013.
https://twitter.com/watson8484/status/949686291842715648
https://twitter.com/VinothK39028121/status/949686499125092352
https://twitter.com/SamCurtex/status/949687179818618880
https://twitter.com/mousey024/status/949684973556195330
Some are less understanding of Coutinho's desire to complete his dream move.
https://twitter.com/CoreyMadden1/status/949686821474234374
And some are just plain heartbroken.
https://twitter.com/Coppin_LFC/status/949684774121205760
https://twitter.com/ConnorEcky00/status/949683983733936129
And of course, the angry mob were out, determined to paint Coutinho as a snake.
https://twitter.com/AnfieldRd96/status/948565062737948673
https://twitter.com/VintageSalah/status/949684254639783936
Game of opinions and all that.
Liverpool have had to acknowledge their status in the global football hierarchy before, selling their best players to bigger clubs - only three and a half years ago Barcelona signed Luis Suárez from Liverpool. Barça's arch rivals Real Madrid also signed Xabi Alonso back in 2009.
When Suarez departed, the money was mostly wasted on sub-standard players such as Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini, but this time it could be different. With such a hefty fee coming in for Coutinho, and Liverpool's squad being much stronger than it was back in 2014, they will look to invest most of the money in a replacement for the midfield magician.
Riyad Mahrez is one of the names being linked with a move to Anfield. The Leicester midfielder is not cup tied in the Champions League, unlike Monaco's Thomas Lemar, which could encourage Liverpool to pursue the Algerian.
