Philippe Coutinho was never going to leave Anfield, according to former Liverpool chief Christian Purslow.
The Brazilian superstar was strongly linked with a move to Barcelona who had THREE bids turned down by the Merseyside club.
Coutinho handed in a transfer request as he looked to force through a move to the Nou Camp and many experts felt the Spanish giants would strike a deal on the eve of the transfer deadline.
But Purslow, who was managing director at Liverpool back in 2009, is adamant the club were never looking to sell the 25-year-old and says it would have sent out the wrong message as they look to become one of the dominant forces in Europe once again.
Purslow, speaking on Sky Sports, said: "I never thought there was any prospect of Liverpool selling Coutinho this summer.
"Coutinho is the star player in a team that is on the up, a team now that is financially now tremendously well run, well capitalised under Fenway ownership, with the new stadium expansion, with a manager who is in the absolute elite top three or four coaches, highly ambitious.
"It would have sent a terrible signal about the priorities of that club if they sold their star player. I don’t believe they came close to selling him, it was the right decision.
"I think Coutinho is going to give Liverpool a tremendous year’s service. He wants to be a star of next year’s World Cup, he’s 25 years old, he’s at the peak of his career and I think there is time in the future for Philippe Coutinho to make one more move. It wasn’t this summer.”
Coutinho has been forced to miss the start of the season with a back injury, but he was back playing for Brazil over the international break and could make his first appearance for the Reds against Manchester City on Saturday.