The way he moved to Barcelona isn't dissimilar to the way that basically every player we've signed from Southampton or wherever else has behaved.
Like the time we forced a Southampton player to put on an LFC top and the time a Southampton player refused to play for them, citing an injured back?
I'm not denying big clubs tap up players from smaller clubs and gobble up their best players; I'm also not denying that we got a damned good price for Coutinho, crossed a line with Virgil and it ended up costing us. But Barcelona are levels above what we've ever done. There is an institutional arrogance at that club and a level of self entitlement beyond belief.
Our hands certainly aren't clean, but we're hardly Barcelona when it comes to picking up players. I don't think we've ever turned a player's head the way they do, and we've never insisted that a player does whatever it takes to force a move through? Maybe someone can correct me on that though.
EDIT: I'm glad for Coutinho. There will hopefully be modest expectations for him at Villa, and he should be comfortably the best player at their club. He could become a real handful if he recovers his confidence.
