Liverpool fans spent the entire summer of 2017 longing for Philippe Coutinho to spurn the advances of FC Barcelona.
When the transfer window slammed shut, they spent half a season longing for their talisman to be persuaded that his long-term future did indeed lie at Anfield.
And for the 18 months that have followed since his club-record move to Camp Nou, they have dreamed of the Brazilian following in the footsteps of Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and... err, Steve Staunton... by making a sensational return to the red half of Merseyside.
However, following two anonymous displays in the Champions League semi-finals against Jurgen Klopp 's side, have Reds supporters finally moved on from 'O Magico'?
Despite two La Liga titles, the 26-year-old has struggled ever since he moved to the Catalan giants and was jeered throughout their recent victory over Getafe .
In contrast, Liverpool have grown even stronger, following up their Champions League final appearance last season with their strongest ever Premier League title challenge and set up another continental final appearance.
Coutinho looks unable to resurrect his Barcelona career and, at this stage, a summer transfer looks likely with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea both tipped to make a move should he return to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has urged Klopp to bring the playmaker back to Anfield this summer.
But while in the past fans would longed for such a notion to become a reality, Thompson's suggestion was met with a rather negative response from Reds fans on Twitter.
He faked a back injury to punish Liverpool for not letting him go, so absolutely not.
— Hassan (@realhabbas) May 13, 2019
No, no, no, a million times, no.
— The Sports Source (@SportsSourceTV) May 13, 2019
That ship has sailed a emphatic NO
— Ian (@Iwoody10) May 13, 2019
My heart says NO! But if Jurgen thinks otherwise, that's good enough for me.
— Nick Morrell (@nickmorrell8877) May 13, 2019
At the moment, we don't need him ... What we need is a backup forward ...
— Macedonian_Red (@Macedonian_Red) May 13, 2019
Mane/Origi - Firmino/New FW - Salah/Shaqiri
Keita/AOC - Fabinho/Grujic - Wijnaldum/Henderson
No place for Coutinho ...
We don't want him back. We play way better without him.
— Tafida Umar Z (@Zaharudeen) May 13, 2019
No, don't need him and don't want him.
— Vivienne Taylor (@Vivienn82283002) May 13, 2019
Nope no no no no no no no no no no, is that clear enough?
— Steve Tysall (@stevetysall1971) May 13, 2019
Do I want a player at the club only because he couldn't make it at the 'dream' club he left us for? Not really, I've had enough of us being a stepping stone. I'd rather have players like Trent and Robbo who appreciate the value of where they are.
— SJB (@RedUncleLFC) May 13, 2019
We have done better without him, plus his back isn’t in it!
— Mark Lally (@MarkLally11) May 13, 2019
No, because of so many reasons.
— Koda (@KodaK203) May 13, 2019
1) We’d be doing Barca a huge favour with the remaining payments on his transfer fee
2) Because of they way he disrespected us
3) Because we play better without him
4) Because we can get better for much less
That’s just a start!
There’s just better players on the market for 80 plus million . Great player for the reds . Time to move on
— Sock Robber (@PaulMakin10) May 13, 2019
Better team without him. No thanks
— Duncan Twigg #WeSavedOurClub (@grandadtwigg) May 13, 2019
Never. I don't want to see him sulking and greedy again.
— Cheryna Marceau (@cheryna27) May 13, 2019
Not sure why there’s this desire to bring players back that wanted to leave so badly and aren’t even playing well now. Need to move forward
— Kevin (@KevinMcCully13) May 13, 2019
No thanks, he left, he made his bed, he can sleep in it.
— Ste Heard (@SteFromRammy) May 13, 2019
Wouldn’t get in our 1st team so no point, he would cost too much to be a squad rotation player
— Dele Klopp (@deleLFCwilliams) May 13, 2019
No thanks we have improved considerably as a team without him move forward not back
— Mark D (@surveyor23) May 13, 2019
Klopp's Liverpool had to move to on as soon as Coutinho boarded his flight to put pen to paper over in Spain. 18 months on from his move to Barcelona and the Reds fanbase are now doing the same.
