Jurgen Klopp has insisted that handing Philippe Coutinho the captain's armband against Swansea City was not part of a ploy to keep the midfielder at the club.
The 25-year-old produced another stellar display on Boxing Day by opening the scoring for his side and proving a real threat throughout in the 5-0 win at Anfield.
Despite some strong rumoured interest from Barcelona, however, Klopp claims that his decision to name Coutinho as skipper-for-the-day was purely down to other options Jordan Henderson and James Milner being absent from the side.
"I don't want to make it any less romantic but when Hendo and Milly aren't playing, Philippe Coutinho is our next longest-serving," he told reporters. "That was why he was captain. Maybe I could be smarter and think 'If I give him the armband, he will never leave'. But that is not how it works.
"Obviously he dealt with it really well because it can mean different things. You can feel the lift or the pressure and it didn't disturb him. He is in a really good moment and I'm not sure the armband had a big influence.
"He has been very good in the last few weeks, when he wasn't wearing the armband. It is a different thing to what Hendo and Milly are doing in the dressing room and around the club. Having it on the pitch is important but not in the same way."
Coutinho now has seven goals and six assists in the Premier League this term across his 13 appearances.
Daniel Lewis
