Liverpool owner Henry slams Suarez and Coutinho over La Liga move

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Kolkata, May 25: Liverpool owner John Henry has taken a dig at former Reds players Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez for their decision to move out of Anfield to Barcelona.

Suarez left Merseyside for £75million in 2014 and before Coutinho followed in his footsteps in a stunning £146m switch last January.

Suarez has won virtually every possible trophy since his move to the Catalan giants, however, this term was eliminated by AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, who were, in turn, knocked out by Jurgen Klopp’s side in the semifinals.

Coutinho on the other hand, left the Premier league side stating his desire to win titles and nevertheless also won his first league title with Barcelona this season. However, Coutinho, who played five of the group games, scoring five goals for the Reds could have been in the starting line-up in the final should he stayed with Liverpool.

And now stating the same fact, Liverpool's owner Henry has criticised the duo who left Liverpool to pursue their own European dream.

The Boston Red Sox owner who took over the club in 2010 now has questioned why both the players went on to leave Anfield and the Premier League to play in La Liga, "where the competition is so weak."

"Maybe it's because I'm an American, but I've a difficult time understanding why anyone would want to leave Liverpool," Henry told The Associated Press.

"The club is so rich in history and tradition, supported by so many millions around the world, in virtually every country of the world."

"You don't want to be in the position where players want to go somewhere else, even if it is a great club like Barcelona."

"It's hard to understand why players would want to go to a league where the competition is so weak. They must play 30 or so meaningless matches per year waiting for Champions League matches."

The Reds have the chance of winning a sixth European crown when they face off against Real Madrid on Saturday night and the American businessman said they could have been playing in the Champions League final this weekend instead of watching on the TV.

"They'll be watching this weekend and could've been playing," Henry added.