14 Mar 2013

'I made the right choice' - €9m star loved by Gerrard explains LFC snub. Loss...?

Liverpool were heavily linked with a move for Dutch maestro Wesley Sneijder during the January transfer window, but the deal didn't go through, and the Reds ended up signing his team-mate, Philippe Coutinho, instead. The midfielder has made six appearances for Galatasaray since his his €9m transfer, and after Gala's Champions League victory over Schalke last night, he explained why he chose the move to Turkey.

In an interview with De Telegraaf last night, Sniejder - who has one goal for the Turkish giants since joining in January - said:

"The win over Schalke is more than anything else a confirmation of something I already knew: that I made the right choice to join Galatasaray.

"The most important thing for me is that I get regular playing time again after a difficult time in Italy and that I can be important for Galatasaray."


Sneijder's comments suggest that he wanted to go to a club where he would be the main-main in midfield, with a tacit guarantee of regular football, something that probably wouldn't happen at Liverpool.

Liverpool clearly got a better deal signing Coutinho, who cost practically the same as Sneijder, and will undoubtedly be on a smaller salary. Dietmar Hamann definitely thinks so, and after watching Sneijder in action recently, he tweeted:

"Sneijder was well off the pace today. He's got a lot to prove in Turkey [to see] whether he's still got it. Coutinho was certainly the better option for Liverpool"

Steven Gerrard certainly wanted Sneijder at Anfield, and in January, he urged the club to sign the Dutchman. He told Goals on Sunday:

"He's a top player, and I'd like nothing more than to see him in a red shirt. I think he'd be a fantastic player for Liverpool Football Club"

Liverpool legends John Aldridge, Jan Molby and Steve Nicol all took the opposite view to Gerrard, and argued that missing out on Sneijder was a blessing in disguise. Aldo indirectly labelled Sneijder a mercenary. He tweeted:

"[It's a] Money thing...not a career move [for Sneijder]. Their league is shite. You would've thought that the lure of the Premier League would've been a far greater move."

In his column for the Liverpool Echo, Molby accepted that a lot of LFC supporters 'were desperate to see Sneijder at Anfield', but conceded he was 'not one of them', adding:

"Liverpool had a lucky escape. He’s [not] the same player everyone remembers from when Inter Milan won Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in 2010, and I’m not convinced we would have got value for money".

Reds hero Steve Nicol seemed to share Molby's view. He told ESPN:

"I'm glad he went to Galatasaray. He's a fantastic player, but the fact he's going there shows you where his head's at, and we don't want players like that at Liverpool".

Did Liverpool get the better deal? If you could turn back time, would you swap Sneijder for Coutinho...?

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


43 comments:

  1. no tired of these players moving like LFC is begging them to play for them

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  2. no, not at the moment. sneijder now reminds me of a more expensive joe cole, but with a little more to offer. and yes, the buzz cut hair-do they both sport did influence that view in some way...

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  3. see suhin is full of praise for rodgers,and sniejder has gone now i wanted him to come but he choose not to so don,t really care what he thinks

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  4. I think we got a better deal with Coutinho.

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  5. Full backing to coutinho, GIVE HIM TIME and he will show we made the correct chose

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  6. At the time Snijder was linked with us, I argued that he might just not be the same player he used to be anymore. Glad to see some experts, if you like to call ex-pros that, agree, even though at the time many wouldn't agree with that view. Snijder is a big name, but it seems that Coutinho has all the tools to be a real hit with us. In other words, yes, it seems as if we've got the better deal, especially on the long run.

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  7. At the time I was really disappointed. Had a lot of stick on here for even suggesting that Sneidjer would come here, people were saying we won't spend any money and have no real pulling power any more.

    With hindsight, however, Coutinho looks to be a great buy, the system suits him, and, given a full preseason to get fit and adjust properly, he may well prove to be an inspired signing, and one which will either become a legend here or get us decent money in the future. Having played in the PL will make him a better all round player, that's for sure, if he moves to the continent in the future.

    I hope he stays

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  8. He's wages would have been way too much and he is not the same player when they won the treble.

    Thinking back now I am happy we did not sign him.

    All this optimism is good, but knowing Liverpool, we'll lose against Southampton.

    So we need to keep on our laurels.

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  9. Huh? Sahin said this: "I have left Brendan Rodgers, thank God."

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  10. Its a case of letting time do its things before answering that question, for me anyway. Coutinho has started quite well but its early days, just like it is still early days with Sterling and was with Lucas when he first came here. 

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  11. Getting Sneijder would have been as big a mistake if not bigger than buying Joe Cole IMO

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  13. Now, that's what I call professional behaviour. Whoever his boss will be in the future will know what to expect, if he doesn't do as Sahin wishes.

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  14. Mike, I don't think that you gave me any stick for my opinion, or even insults, and you are, of course, entitled to your own opinion. I can see the thinking, the idea behind wanting a big name player at our club, and in the past I used to admire Snijder a lot, until he proved me wrong.

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  15. I think he already has; there's talent in them there feet

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  16. And Allen, as it was, and partly is, with Henderson.

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  17. Then difference between the attitudes of Lucas and Sahin is astounding though.

    If you read what Lucas said in his interview with Molby, he was an AM who had won awards in Brazil and made their national team. When he came to the PL, he realised that the game was very different, and was self aware enough to honestly assess himself in that context.

    He then set out to re-invent himself and learn a new role as a DM, not throw his dummy out of the pram and moan he wasn't being played in his correct position. He kept his head down, worked hard, and became extremely effective in his new role, at his peak he was arguably the best DM in the Prem.

    Contrast that with Sahin. He came with a reputation as a playmaker deep lying mid/DM. He wasn't better as the deep lying player than Stevie, and wasn't strong enough or adept at tackling/intercepting as he needed to be. So he was put into a quasi attacking midfield role. After the initial period, he started to mope and drift into obscurity in that role, believing that he should be playing elsewhere in the team. If he had shown enough in that role in  training etc, SG would have been moved into a more forward role as we needed more in that position and SG can play there well.

    But he didn't do enough, and started to moan out loud to the press that he needed to be paying where he always did. What a contrast to Lucas' attitude.

    I reckon that's the reason he was shown the door. Attitude. Not ability.

    good riddance I say.

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  18. The good times are back2:16 pm, March 14, 2013

    Sahin has only featured twice for Dortmund since they took him back so now he can go enjoy his time on the bench with an attitude deserving of nothing.

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  19. No mate, not my style, I would have just given my counterarguments at the time. Just admiiting my mistake with Sneidjer, glad we missed him now.

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  20. The good times are back2:19 pm, March 14, 2013

    Yip, mentioned in my post above that he has only featured twice for Dortmund since he went back there. He is either injured or cannot get into their team. We would have wasted our money if we signed Sahin so good on Rodgers for only loaning him.

    Agree, good riddance.

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  21. lol m8 how many player s do we have who would get in the dortmund team,one of the best sides i,ve seen this season wish i had backed them at 20/1 for the champions league

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  22. To me a player goes to Gala over Liverpool for one reason. £££.

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  23. The good times are back4:58 pm, March 14, 2013

    Jason, your love for LFC is something to be admired.

    Cough, Cough...

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  24. Maybe they love lamb.

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  25. Maybe it is a bit bitter on his part, but it must be annoying to be wooed, as Sahin clearly was, only to be played intermittently and out of position.

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  26. im glad we got Coutinho instead of Sneijder, the kid can play and has shown great promise in his 3 starts, imagine what he will do when he settles in

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  27. completely agree on this one, I wasn`t over keen on him either. At the time I felt he wouldn`t have been good enough for us, as he hadn`t played that well for a while. Coutinho though, I didn`t really have a clue about, but from the vids I saw I thought he might be ok, and as sad as it sounds, his name does sound good, so I was hoping he would work out lol

    Glad we got him, and due to his age, he looks like a lot better buy. He has work to do, as fitness is still clearly a issue, but thats to be expected. 

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  28. agreed about Allen. I dont think he will ever be a World clas player, but do feel for the lad a bit, as he had to play in Luca`s role, then got loads of stick for not scoring enough, and that seems to have stuck with him, which I feel is a bit unfair of us fans. I think he has more to offer than people give him credit for.

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  29. it is a great team your right, and they are proving the saying that you can`t win anything with kids, wrong.

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  30. A new /Mongolian / member to this site. 

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  31. dude ?? are you seriously a lfc supporter !! you never like an article !! always against it !! u speak when the article is for coutinho.. for lucas.. for suarez.. for sturridge !! u speak against lfc.. how are u a lfc fan !! u just don't deserve to be in this comments room mate !!

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  32. Its early days i agree with most of the lads. Sneljder at his peak was easily 30mil player and at the price Gala got him, its difficult not to feel sour but looking back, we would have to break our wage structure just to accomodate him which i will disagree. If he came in at 200k quid a week and failed, then we have another cole on our hands which is truely shite.

    As much as i wanted another true WC level player at our club, i agree it is correct to pass up on him. PL vs Turks league was a no brainer unless the brain is filled with $$$.

    Coutinho is looking gd and long may it continue but it will be over next season and beyond where he will be judge. We have seen too many 1 hit wonders who did magic for season 1 and then disappeared.

    I actually like Sahin but as much as i still dislike BR, i agree a player shouldn't be out complaining in public. However, who knows? Maybe BR and him had some personal differences? The pt Sahin made abt BR unable to reply him why he is played out of position, if thats true then i question why BR did not explain his plans to him. Still feel there must be something boiling...German league player of the year he was, i don't think he was bad for us.

    Allen? WC? i pray we just keep quiet on that. I bet alot of us still rem BR going on abt him being the Welsh Xavi... goodness just let the kid grow for god sake. He can be excellent and had been terrible but this shows he is still young. All the hype that he is the model player and xavi to be will kill him.

    Am glad BR is listening to our comments...and i will quietly hope we make a late push towards the top. Come on Reds.

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  33. just stating a fact how many of our players would get in the dortmund team not many m8 wether you like it or not,and the point was for the good times,

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  34. really sticking to the comments policy lol;-)

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  35. will not help lfc in the long run sahins comments ,do not put rodgers in a good light and what will assaidi have to say when he leaves,

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  36. He might not become a world class player, but who will anyway. Only time will tell if and how he develops. The cases of Lucas, Henderson and Downing should have shown a few people that they shouldn't write of a player too soon.

    Allen might even be a future starter, given the players around him though. I am not suggesting that we should build our squad or even our midfield around him.

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  37. Brazilians always have a sound about them, don't they. And while Coutinho has started his career with us pretty well, he has a very long way to go. He seems to get away with a lot of mistakes in many people's eyes as he has just joined us and is still very young, but keeping in mind how some people already slate 18-year-old Sterling, I wouldn't expect this to last very long.

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  38. It sounded bitter to me and there seems to be something with his attitude. A bit like Babel who moaned and moaned about not being played in his favourite position. Lucas the other day gave an interview where he declared that he had to change his position in order to succeed at Liverpool, and he did exactly that. Let's wait and see how Sahin and Real Madrid work out in the future.

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  39. Some people have good thing about us to say, like Alonso and Garcia, and some have bad things to say, like Sahin and Cole. I know which one I consider as the more mature and professional behaviour.

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  40. It's always great to discuss different views in a civilised manner! And it puts you into a positive light to admit a mistake (though I am not sure whether I would even call this one a mistake).

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  41. yes but the ones who have left under rodgers all agree

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  42. Excuse the question, Jason, but do you have severe problems with your perception?

    You claim that ALL players who have left under Rodgers agree. As this is about Rodgers being the one to blame for their time with us coming to an unsuccessful end, that is what they agree with, according to you.

    Now, who are ALL these players who have left since Rodgers is our manager, and what have they said?

    Sahin has directly blamed/attacked Rodgers. If he is ALL players, then you are right. But haven't some others left too?

    Joe Cole recently had a dig at OUR CLUB IN GENERAL. Our previous manager did loan him to a league, that is perceived as a lesser league by many. That hardly makes it Cole blaming Rodgers.

    Aquilani was loaned out by the past two managers before Rodgers. I don't know what exactly he has said, but he can hardly blame Rodgers when the two guys in charge before him didn't fancy him at all.

    Maxi, Kuyt, Aurelio and Bellamy all decided to leave even before Rodgers became our manager. Please show me where they have blamed Rodgers for them leaving.


    Alexander Doni retired because of health issues. Again, please show me where he blames Rodgers for them.


    And as far as I remember Adam said something like it is a pity it didn't work out for him at Liverpool. No reference to Rodgers at all.


    You may check for yourself whether one of the many youngster who have left us since Rodgers is in charge blamed Rodgers.


    I hope that you can see now that the statement you have made above, that ALL players who have left under Rodgers blame him, is false at best, and a lie at worst.

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