Emmanuel Petit believes Philippe Coutinho must constantly question why he opted to join Barcelona from Liverpool.
The Brazilian playmaker secured his "dream" £142million move to the Spanish giants in January 2018, leaving the Premier League for La Liga just like Petit did 18 years earlier.
But despite arriving at the Camp Nou with high expectations, Coutinho's time at the Catalan club quickly became a nightmare and after falling out of favour headed for Bayern Munich on a season-long loan in the summer.
His old club on the other hand have gone from strength to strength and after claiming the Champions League last season, are now just two wins away from being crowned Premier League champions.
Petit also suffered a similar experience after leaving Arsenal for the Spanish giants in 2000 and believes Coutinho will now be filled with regret for leaving the Anfield club.
"If I was Philippe Coutinho, every morning I would wake up and think to myself, 'Why, why, did I sign [for Barcelona] in Spain?'" the former French World Cup winner told Mirror Football.
"And do you know why I say this? Because, I can remember the time when I'd wake up, when I was at Barcelona, when I left Arsenal, and I was thinking the same way, 'Why did I leave? Why did I leave? Why did I leave?'"
"And to be honest with you I am sure Coutinho has been asking himself the same question for a while now. He left for Bayern Munich, he does sometimes play well but he's not really a first-team player."
Petit also believes a move back to the Premier League would benefit the 27-year-old, but a transfer to Liverpool is a no go as Jurgen Klopp's side have proved they don't need him.
"I'm pretty sure it would work out for him [returning to England]. He fits perfectly with the Premier League," the former midfielder added.
"He's got the vision, the technique, the speed, he can strike, he has the creativity.
"We all know what he is capable of. I was a big fan of his when he was at Liverpool. I would be very, very happy to see him back in the Premier League.
"He won't go back to Liverpool. When I was at Barcelona, they wanted me back at Arsenal, and it was tempting - I was close to returning to Arsenal.
"But at the end of the day, I was thinking 'Emmanuel, you need to be honest with yourself. If you left a year ago it was for a reason.'"
"If Coutinho is honest with himself, since he left Liverpool they have won the Champions League and they're on the way to winning the Premier League. Liverpool haven't needed him, so why would he go back to Liverpool?"
omz222
1602
It was always his dreams to play for Barcelona but he failed to understand that Nightmares are also dreams
AnisurRahaman
535
I completely disagree with you because it's his dream to play for barca,and he didn't knew he will unsuccessful at barca..if he would fit at barca then no one asked this type questions.
fidbknr
507
He went to win multiple trophies. It didn't turn out that way but there is still time. And let's not pretend like L/pool won much after Coutinho left. Only a single UCL and EPL this season. Coutinho can still win UCL,even with Bayern this season.
Rokabcor
484
Yes he's regretted for leaving. Neymar even advised him not to but he was at his dream. Any player who betrayed the trust of his fans never go unpunished. We should bear in mind that the voice of the ppl is the voice of God. Not going far, Alexis Sanchez left arsenal for Manu he regretted it, Pogba left Juventus for Manu he regretted it, Neymar left Barcelona for PSG he regretted it, etc. in otherwise any club that looked down upon a player lives to regret. So in life we should be careful when taking a decision.
topceilrsu
418
everything need a proper time to make decision coz even right thing if you do in wrong time it becomes wrong
clent94
324
its always like that, when a child fail to listen to the advice of a Father. what an elderly man will when sitting down a child will never see even though he clamb a mountain or ladder. be wise coutinho.
Wawabirstu
301
Exactly..... of course that Liverpool to Barcelona transfer made a bad turn in his playing career.He was as bright as a star at Liverpool,but playing for a club like FCB is always a dream.Liverpool don't need Coutinho anymore,at all.They reached the UCL Finals twice in a row,losing to Real Madrid in 2018 and winning against Spurs in 2019 and are about to win EPL without him!
SH221B
182
He left for Champions league, unfortunately Liverpool won but Barca didn't 😁😁
Fauzisma
121
leave the boy alone every day Countinho Liverpool was not his fast team to leave and he's not fast player to leave Liverpool you don't know what will happen next season maybe next season he will perform better than the previous season