Despite the wealth of riches on the line, this is the season that no Liverpool supporter wants to see reach its culmination, with iconic manager Jurgen Klopp set to leave his post by summer.

First place in the Premier League and in with a first chance for silverware next week when Chelsea are met at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool are in a fine position to give the German a glittering send-off come summer.

After completing the 2022/23 campaign with no major honours to augment the trophy cabinet and a fifth-placed league finish to sever hopes of competing in the Champions League, Klopp made sweeping transfer changes to revive his squad and has now charted a course toward success.

But years of unrelenting action seem to have taken their toll, with the 56-year-old admitting that he is "running out of energy" in January as he announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season.

While the declaration has come as an acute shock – Klopp signed a new long-term contract less than one year ago – Liverpool will be confident that the squad can continue its journey over the coming years, a new manager taking the reins after Klopp crafted a brilliant team that won silverware from every angle.

Where did it all start? Klopp's appointment back in 2015 is the obvious answer. But there is no questioning that the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona had the ultimate transformative effect that turned an exciting project into the assembling of a super team.

Liverpool's signing of Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool cashed in lucratively on Coutinho but first they had to mould him into one of the most thrilling midfielders in the Premier League, landing him from Inter Milan for just £8.5m back in January 2013.

An agile attacking midfielder with a mean shot and an artist's vision, he had all the trappings of a first-rate phenom, indeed rising to the fore and thriving as the lynchpin for Liverpool in the days before Klopp's reign and the early terms of his dynasty, still yet to breathe its last.

Stat

#

Matched played

14

Goals

7

Assists

6

Pass accuracy

79%

Key passes per game

2.9

Dribbles per game

2.8

Tackles per game

1.2

Duels won per game

5.6

Source: Sofascore

Coutinho would conclude his time on Merseyside without silverware but having won over the Liverpool support across 201 appearances, posting 54 goals and 45 assists, with his exploits leading past Liverpool star Lucas Leiva to describe him as a "magician", an apt description for such wizardry on the pitch.

Klopp might not have wanted to sell his central creative cog but Coutinho had handed in a transfer request in August 2017 with Barcelona in pursuit of a deal, and while this was initially rejected, Klopp and co acquiesced at the campaign's midpoint in what shaped Liverpool's recent history. Perhaps more so than any other one transfer.

How much Liverpool sold Coutinho for

Coutinho's transfer request was rather damning, signalling the 5 foot 8 gem's desire to leave at a time when Klopp's project was really taking off. Barcelona might have been rebuffed initially but this was not a situation that would go away.

And despite a brilliant start to the 2017/18 season, with Liverpool wreaking devastation through some delightful offensive synergy – Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah supplemented by Coutinho's spark – his head was turned and that was that.

On Monday, 8 January 2018, Barcelona secured Coutinho's signature from Liverpool in a jaw-dropping £146m deal, making him one of the most expensive players in history.

Consider the paltry fee that Liverpool paid for Coutinho's services, consider his impact throughout the maiden days of Klopp's reign, and consider the benefits that were found from his sale, facilitating the additions of Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.

The recuperation is actually marked by an incredible 1618% profit margin; truly seismic in Liverpool's narrative under Klopp's stewardship. The success simply would not have reached the same lofty heights without this transfer.

Coutinho's market value through the years

Barcelona's mammoth acquisition was ludicrously high, few would dispute that, but there was widespread belief that the Spanish outfit had got their hands on one of Europe's superlative playmakers, his displays for Liverpool leading manager-at-the-time Brendan Rodgers to hail him as a "sensational" player capable of producing "phenomenal" moments.

It's startling to think that the dynamo has plummeted so drastically in recent years, with the table below portraying the depreciation that has sunk him into obscurity.

Date

Age

Market Value

02/24

31 y/o

£7m

07/23

31 y/o

£14m

07/22

30 y/o

£21m

07/21

29 y/o

£35m

07/20

28 y/o

£44m

07/19

27 y/o

£48m

07/18

26 y/o

£65m

07/17

25 y/o

£58m

07/16

24 y/o

£34m

07/15

23 y/o

£27m

Source: Football Transfers

Of course, Coutinho has certainly had his fair share of success during his post-Liverpool career, notably winning two La Liga titles in Catalonia and completing a stunning treble on loan with Bayern Munich in 2019/20, contributing with a healthy return of 11 goals and nine assists in all competitions.

But his influence has waned as his career has progressed and injuries ruined his return to Barcelona, with the 2021/22 campaign's midpoint presenting the opportunity to rekindle his prowess on English shores, joining Aston Villa on loan in January 2022 and completing a permanent transfer for £17m in May.

Despite some bright moments in the midlands, incessant injuries hindered his football and Coutinho was unable to sustain his elegant and creative performances, with the Brazil international joining Qatari team Al-Duhail on a season-long loan back in September.

It's hard to imagine that many Liverpool fans at all would speak of regret that Coutinho was sold to Barcelona, paving the stones of prosperity for Klopp and his expertly crafted team to head toward success unseen in decades at Anfield.

It facilitated an era of illustrious heights and restored Liverpool football club as a superpower on the continental scene, and while Klopp is approaching the westering sun of his tenure, the framework is intact to keep the system purring for many campaigns to come.