5 players Barcelona could have signed with £142 million Coutinho money

It is quite difficult to look at this transfer and not think that Barcelona did it to make a statement against Liverpool more than anything else. If the signing fee was somewhere around £60-70 million, there would have been a totally different complexion to this purchase.

However, for £142 million, it is quite impossible to claim that there was nothing else to it. Liverpool didn’t let the Catalans bully them in the summer, something that didn’t go all too well with the Blaugranas.

As a result, they came back in the winter window and exerted their might on the Reds. And this time, they were powerless to resist. However, Barcelona could have signed similar players for lesser the amount—and here are 5 such players.

Note: This article doesn’t berate Coutinho’s ability as a player. He is world-class, but just not £142 million world-class.

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#5 Thomas Lemar

Lemar might move to Liverpool as Coutinho's replacement

The Frenchman might be left-footed, but would have been a player for Barcelona in the Philippe Coutinho mould. The Monaco star could have easily slotted as the left-sided midfielder in a 3-man midfield and provide both directness and creativity from there.

Apart from that, according to Monaco’s valuation, he would have cost somewhere around £90 million—which is a lot less than what the Catalans paid for the Brazilian star.

While there is little doubt that the former Inter man is the more established player than the young Frenchman, one has to wonder as to how high Lemar’s ceiling is. Perhaps, it is above the potential of Coutinho.

Barca might have missed a trick here.

#4 Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez is often labelled as the Algerian Messi

Yes, no doubt Mahrez would not have been a big-name signing like Coutinho is, but when it comes to ability, we have all seen what the Algerian could do. He led a not-so-glamorous Leicester City side to an unprecedented league win two years ago and was awarded as the PFA Player of the Year that acknowledged his contribution.

These are feats that Philippe Coutinho can’t boast.

While Coutinho will definitely add a lot of creativity and guile to the team, Mahrez would have done the same at the Camp Nou. He might play a lot of his games on the wings, but he is perfectly capable of shifting to the centre.

And with the quality that he would have had around him, he could have contributed a lot.

#3 Leon Goretzka

Goretzka was superb in the Confed Cup

Now for players that are more natural central midfielders. Leon Goretzka might not be as direct as Coutinho is, but when it comes to making plays from the middle, he is perhaps better than the Brazilian.

Goretzka’s contract will end by the conclusion of this season, which means that Barcelona could have gotten him for next to almost nothing. The German is now rising up the ranks and could actually be a first-choice member of the Germany team at the World Cup.

Also, he is not cup-tied like Coutinho is, so the Catalans could have actually used him in the Champions League—something they can’t do with the former Inter man.

#2 Christian Pulisic

Pulisic is a future star

The first thing that might come to the minds of people right now is that Pulisic is a winger. Well, actually, he is everything. You want a right-back, Pulisic is here. You want a left-forward, Pulisic is here.

You want a central-midfielder, Pulisic is here—his best position is yet to be uncovered. However, one gets the impression that he will be renowned as one of the best central-midfielders in the game. Indeed, he has every quality to be an all-round midfielder that can do almost anything.

His time in the backline has moulded his defensive abilities while his time in the attack has developed his passing and creativity. In midfield, he can display all these abilities in a dynamic role.

He could have been the focal point for Barca’s system—and would have definitely cost lesser than Coutinho—even though Dortmund don’t share a good relationship with the Cules after their pursuit of Ousmane Dembele.

#1 Jorginho

The passmaster

How has this marriage not happened yet is a question that will perhaps remain unanswered for a while.

Jorginho is a pass-master that is perhaps the only player close enough to Xavi in that regard. Indeed, since the 2015-16 season, Jorginho hasn’t had a single season where he has averaged less than 90-passes-per-game in the Serie A.

Last season, he made a world record for the most successful passes in a game against Cagliari as he completed 180 out of 195 attempted passes. This was the most completed passes by any player in the history of European league football.

Meanwhile, Barcelona has struggled to replace Xavi ever since the Catalan left the team. In Jorginho, they would have had the perfect player to fill in the void and he wouldn’t have cost even half of what they paid for Coutinho.