Philippe Coutinho was grinning from ear to ear as he put pen to paper at Melwood with Jurgen Klopp alongside him.

The Brazilian had just committed his future to Liverpool until 2022 with a lucrative new deal worth £150,000 per week.

“This shows my happiness here,” he said. “I signed this new contract to stay here for a few more years because it’s a great honour for me.

“I was welcomed here with open arms by everyone at the club and the supporters right from my first day. Jurgen is a great manager. He’s a winner.

“I am very thankful to this football club for everything. We feel at home in this city, we feel a part of this city.”

Just six-and-a-half months on Coutinho attempted to break that bond when he rocked Liverpool on the eve of the new Premier League season by submitting a transfer request and demanding that they let him join Barcelona. Talk about a slap in the face for Kopites.

The Reds were braced for it. Coutinho’s representatives had earlier briefed sections of the media that it was on the way.

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The email sent directly from the 25-year-old, who had reported to Melwood as usual on Friday morning, finally landed in the inbox of sporting director Michael Edwards around lunchtime.

It was instantly rejected and Liverpool insist that it changes nothing. Owners Fenway Sports Group, who have already snubbed bids of £72million and £90m, remain adamant that Coutinho won’t be signing for the Catalan giants during the current transfer window.

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

However, this is far from the end of the matter. An unwanted distraction for Jurgen Klopp is in danger of turning very ugly in the weeks leading up to deadline day.

All the talk from Coutinho’s camp earlier in the week had been that of course he would jump at the chance to join Barcelona if a fee could be agreed between the clubs. But respectful of everything Liverpool had done for him and his family, he didn’t want to agitate for a move and risk damaging his legacy.

All that went out the window on Friday after FSG released a statement declaring that no offers for Coutinho would be considered and he would be staying at Anfield this season.

Fearful that his dream move to the Camp Nou was slipping away, Coutinho decided to try to force the issue. You can guarantee that agent Kia Joorabchian won’t be taking Liverpool’s swift response lying down.

Jurgen Klopp on his relationship with FSG

Already unnamed family members have been quoted as saying that Coutinho has grown frustrated with his role in the team and that his relationship with Klopp has deteriorated over the past six months. That’s all news to Liverpool.

It’s all very unsavoury and unnecessary.

The lure of Barca is always huge for elite South American talent. Coutinho lived in the city during his time on loan at Espanyol and wants to be reunited with close friend Luis Suarez.

But if he really cares about Liverpool and wasn’t just paying lip service with those comments back in January when he happily penned a deal which contains no release clause, he will take a step back and look at things from the perspective of the club who helped him truly launch his career in Europe.

(Image: Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

It’s mid-August. How could Liverpool possibly replace him if they sold him now?

Yes, £100m, if Barca go that high, would be a massive return on a player who cost the Reds just £8.5m from Inter Milan four-and-a-half years ago.

However, Coutinho’s exit at this stage of the window would undermine Klopp and deliver a hammer blow to the Reds’ hopes of building on the progress of last term.

The fact is that if Barcelona wanted him that much they wouldn’t have left it so late and armed with the £200m from the sale of Neymar they would have offered Liverpool considerably more than their second bid which equated to just £77m up front.

History suggests that FSG will stick to their guns and Coutinho won’t get his own way.

Suarez tried to force a move to Arsenal in the summer of 2013 and was banished to train on his own at Melwood before belatedly accepting that he was going nowhere. The Uruguayan responded by scoring 31 goals and firing Liverpool to the brink of title glory before they stumbled with the finish line in sight.

When Suarez left the following year it was because Barca triggered his release clause. When Raheem Sterling followed him out the door 12 months later it was because Manchester City had met Liverpool’s asking price of £49m.

With Coutinho, there is no figure that will convince FSG to have a change of heart.

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Keeping an unhappy player who wants out is a gamble. The question is what happens now? Will Coutinho effectively down tools? There are no guarantees that he will respond like Suarez did four years ago.

But with the World Cup finals on the horizon next summer, Coutinho has to be playing week in week out if he wants to be leading the charge for Brazil. He can’t afford to sulk for too long.

He will have Barca in his ear telling him that it’s now or never, but the reality is they will be back for him.

What’s clear is that this is the beginning of the end for Coutinho at Liverpool. But a parting of the ways is unlikely to happen for another 12 months.

The sooner he accepts that and knuckles down the better.