Liverpool became "a proper team" because they sold Philippe Coutinho says Reds legend Graeme Souness.
The Brazilian joined Barcelona for £142million in January 2018 but despite securing back-to-back La Liga titles with the Catalan giants, he flattered to deceive over his 18-month spell at the Camp Nou and is spending this season on loan at Bayern Munich.
In contrast, Liverpool , who ploughed the funds back into Jurgen Klopp's team, bringing in first defender Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson for then world-record fees in their respective positions have gone from strength to strength.
After reaching the 2018 Champions League final only to lose 3-1 to Real Madrid, the Reds lifted the European Cup for the sixth time this year and after recording a club record 97-point haul in the Premier League last season, will end the decade with a commanding lead at the top of the table as they look well-placed to land their first League Championship for 30 years.
Speaking on Sky Sports , Souness, who won the title five times with Liverpool as well as three European Cups before returning to Anfield as manager, said: “Maybe, for the neutral, they were a better watch a couple of years ago.
“But when they got rid of Coutinho and brought in Van Dijk and Alisson, that’s when they made that jump.
“All of a sudden they’re a proper team.”
