“Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour. Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.”
This was Jurgen Klopp ’s well-documented advice to Philippe Coutinho back in May 2017 when the Brazilian first started flirting with Barcelona, but in truth, it could apply to many a former Liverpool star over the years.
In the four years that have passed since the German first uttered those words, his prediction has proven to be more true than he could have originally envisaged.
Coutinho belatedly made a club-record £142m to Camp Nou in January 2018 and while silverware followed, both in Spain and on loan at Bayern Munich, he has failed to live up to the standards he set at Liverpool.
He is now just another player. And not a particularly valued one at that.
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With the Catalans in financial ruin, with the Brazilian's transfer a major contributory factor, Barcelona have continued to struggle to offload the playmaker.
With debts totalling over £1bn, they cashed in on the likes of Emerson Royal, Ilaiz Moriba, Junior Firpo and Jean-Clair Todibo in the summer, while they were unable to renew Lionel Messi's contract because of La Liga salary rules and sent Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic out on loan just to get them off the wage bill.
Yet Coutinho, who only made his first appearance of 2021 after a knee injury last month, remained at Camp Nou despite the La Liga giants trying to move him on for a third-successive summer.
Linked with Newcastle United in recent weeks after they were taken over by a Saudi Arabian consortium, reports in Spain in the summer had suggested he had been offered back to Liverpool as the Catalans look to recapture a third of their original investment.
There would have been a time when Reds fans, and maybe even Klopp, would have jumped at the opportunity to re-sign Coutinho.
For five seasons he had been Liverpool’s exciting Brazilian match-winner and the thought of him lining up alongside compatriot Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane would have been salivating.
But no more.
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As Firmino, Salah and Mane fired Klopp’s men to become English, European and World champions, they became something more while Coutinho just warmed a bench as his star continued to dwindle.
Admittedly, perhaps all he needs is an arm around the shoulder and who better in world football to give him the confidence he needs to get back to his best than Klopp?
Meanwhile, having at times played in midfield three under both Brendan Rodgers and the German at Anfield, he could provide a varied replacement to Gini Wijnaldum with his knowledge of how Liverpool play under Klopp could certainly prove beneficial.
But now 29 and not a long-term signing as a result, his decline already appears to have begun and a move to Newcastle seems more fitting considering his current status.
Form might be temporary and class might be permanent, as the old saying goes, but a three-year collapse is far worse than any blip.
Liverpool have moved on without Coutinho and comfortably outgrown him. A talented player with fond memories of Anfield, yes, but one that should be left in the past.
However, there is one former Liverpool star, and another graduate from their nearly Champions class of 2014, who reportedly faces an uncertain future at his current club and who should be considered for an unlikely return.
The England international remains out of favour at Man City, starting just three Premier League matches so far this season, and continues to be linked with a move away from the Etihad with German publication BILD suggesting both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain are ‘considered' to be financially strong interested parties.
Out of contract in 2023, the winger admitted earlier this month he is considering his future with the reigning Premier League champions as a result.
"If there was the option to go somewhere else for more game time I would be open to it," he said at the FT Business of Sport US summit. "As an English player all I know is the Premier League and I’ve always thought: ‘You know, maybe one day I’d love to play abroad and see how I would come up against that challenge.’
“I’m not a person that’s going to complain. I’ve not tried to make it a bigger deal than it actually is. I get on with my work, do what I need to do, and I’m just raring to go. [Ready to be] playing football matches regularly. Scoring goals regularly.
“If football for me is not at a certain standard I’m not really at my happiest. If I want my happiness at a certain level I need to be playing football. I need to be scoring goals. And enjoying myself.”
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In truth, Sterling endured a below-par season last year as he fell down the City pecking order, with the £100m arrival of Jack Grealish in the summer not helping his standing with Pep Guardiola. Boasting 23, 25 and 31 goals in each of his previous three campaigns, last year’s total of 14 is comfortably his lowest since winning his first Premier League title.
But that shouldn’t put off Liverpool or any side interested in his services. He was a star performer for England at Euro 2020 afterall, where he remains one of Gareth Southgate's most important players.
Sterling is very much a confidence player and Klopp would arguably be the manager best-suited to unlock his next level, the way he already has done for both Salah and Mane.
Capable of playing anywhere across the front three he would certainly be a valuable addition to the Reds’ armoury as an alternative to any of their attacking triumvirate, alongside Diogo Jota, while, still only 26, he is now entering his peak years as a player.
A long-term investment as a result, standing two years younger than the current front three, consider his home-grown and club-trained status and the benefits of such a signing continue to stack up.
Sure, Sterling endured a rather unceremonious Liverpool exit, but all would be forgotten if Klopp brought him home with it then up to the winger to ensure all his forgiven with performances on the pitch.
Admittedly, whether City would really sanction a move to their closest title-rivals is up for debate but he has admitted in the past a return to Anfield is appealing to him.
"Would I ever go back to Liverpool? To be honest with you I love Liverpool,” he admitted in an Instagram Q&A in March 2020.
"Don’t get it twisted, they are always in my heart. It’s a team that has done a lot for me growing up so…"
Meanwhile, his controversial former agent Aidy Ward previously admitted the winger could have stayed with the Reds had Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers sooner.
“Raheem could’ve stayed, he should be at Liverpool,” Ward told the Daily Mail back in 2015. “I think for me it was like he was being told to be a good boy and sign a contract.
“In December I spoke to Liverpool and said we’ll sign a contract if there is a buy-out clause - those clauses are now common practice. They said no to that.
“Then there was an underhandedness, there were sly remarks. In press conferences, Brendan told everyone Raheem would sign - why do that?
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“I knew, Brendan knew and Liverpool knew there was an issue. Right now he probably should be a Liverpool player, but he’s not and he’s in a great place at City.
“The new Liverpool manager probably would have been a great fit for Raheem - passionate, disciplined in the right way, new ideas, not afraid of trying new things. He’ll do great at Liverpool.
“Would Raheem under Klopp have been a good scenario? Yes, 100 per cent, definitely, mainly because of the person Klopp is - the passion, the drive, the emotion, wanting to achieve.
“Raheem has all of this, but you won’t always see it outwardly. Working with Klopp - that could have been great. He’s going to get the best out of those players. It could have been a dream come true.”
Having left Liverpool when just 20 years of age, Sterling has unfinished business at Anfield.
He left the Reds in search of further silverware and while he has won multiple honours, European glory still alludes him.
When the trio played together on Merseyside, Liverpool were very much just a stepping stone and nearly men but now they are the real deal, as well-placed as anyone to add to their domestic and continental crowns under Klopp.
Former players will always be linked with returns to old clubs when on the move, but such links with the likes of Coutinho and Luis Suarez are based purely out of sentimentality.
Unlike the duo, Sterling’s best days still lie ahead of him.
Whether those days are spent under Guardiola at Man City remains to be seen.
Considering he is now in his seventh season at the Etihad and has played a vital role in Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup triumphs, Sterling doesn't carry the same affection as some of his former team-mates.
After all, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and now Sergio Aguero are all leaving when past their best, with the trio set to handed statues outside the Etihad.
Dare we say it, despite 115 goals from 304 appearances, at Man City he is just another player.
The fact that Guardiola is reportedly prepared to cash in on the winger ahead of the best years of his career is proof of that, and Liverpool would be wise to consider such a move and strike an early blow in the upcoming title-race as a result.
Sure, Sterling won't ever get a statue at Anfield, but under Klopp he could certainly be something more.
