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Jurgen Klopp's words should serve as a warning for Trent Alexander-Arnold(Image: Getty Images)

As the saying goes, the grass isn't always greener - a lesson Jurgen Klopp issued long before Trent Alexander-Arnold's impending Liverpool exit.

But history tells us that Liverpool stars don't always thrive after high-profile moves to Spain - Philippe Coutinho's ill-fated switch to Barcelona being a prime example.

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In 2018, the Brazilian midfielder left Merseyside for Catalonia in a £142million deal, only to struggle under the weight of expectations, never quite recapturing the brilliance he showed on a weekly basis at Liverpool.



Before his departure, then-manager Klopp warned him that he'd be "just another player" at Camp Nou - a prophecy that proved painfully accurate.

"Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour," Klopp told him.

"If you go to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, you will be just another player.

However, his resurgence was short-lived, and he quickly found himself on the fringes once again.

Now 32, Coutinho is a high-profile forgotten man, currently on loan at Brazilian side Vasco da Gama - a far cry from the record-breaking transfer that once made him the third-most expensive player in history.

Coutinho's decision to swap Liverpool for Barcelona in 2018 backfired(Image: Getty Images)

Admittedly, Alexander-Arnold's situation is far less do-or-die than the one Coutinho faced seven years ago.

For a player who has long been seen as the embodiment of Liverpool's identity, that could leave a lasting sting.

Alexander-Arnold looks set to join Real Madrid this summer(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)

That said, a switch to Spain isn't necessarily doomed to fail.