Liverpool reject Barcelona’s third bid of £114million for Philippe Coutinho as Jurgen Klopp refuses to budge
The Catalan club are desperate to replace Neymar following his world-record move to PSG - and Coutinho is top choice
LIVERPOOL have rejected a third bid believed to be £114million from Barcelona for their star player Philippe Coutinho.
The Catalan club are desperate to replace Neymar following his £198m world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, with Coutinho their top target.
But the Merseyside club instantly snubbed the offer — understood to be £82m plus £36m in add-ons.
Barca appear to have already accepted defeat before the bid was lodged, as SunSport reported earlier today how the club's sporting director Robert Fernandez admitted that the La Liga side are facing an uphill battle to sign him.
The Brazilian midfielder does not have a release clause, which is making the transfer difficult to seal for the La Liga giants.
Coutinho handed in a transfer request last week, but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp remains adamant that the Brazilian is staying at Anfield.
Liverpool have already turned down two bids of £72million and £90million from the La Liga outfit for their midfield ace.
And even a huge hike to £114m hasn't proved enough to tempt the Liverpool hierarchy.
⚽IAN WRIGHT: Liverpool v Crystal Palace betting preview⚽
By Ian Wright
SHAMBOLIC defending from both sides last weeks has me thinking Anfield will be seeing goals galore this weekend.
I think home advantage makes this and easy pick, with Liverpool the obvious winners for me.
However, Christian Benteke loves scoring against Liverpool, with seven in his eight outings to date, so I’ll be backing the big Belgian to net at anytime (5/2) in a 3-1 home win (10/1).
ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP: Christian Benteke to score anytime, 5/2
Latest On Philippe Coutinho's Transfer
Who is Philippe Coutinho? From Inter flop to Kop superstar
- Born on June 12, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Joined Vasco de Gama aged seven and was signed by Inter for €4m at just 16-years-old
- He stayed in Brazil for two years, making his debut as a teenager and helping the team to promotion in his second season
- Made his Inter debut in 2010 but struggled to break into the first team - loaned to Espanyol in January 2012, impressing with five goals in 16 matches
- After failing to establish himself in Italy, was sold to Liverpool for just £8.5m in January 2013
- Has since become one of Liverpool's best players, winning Fans Player of the Year twice and being named in the Premier League team of the year in 2015
- Made his Brazil debut in 2010 but became an established regular in 2015
Speaking about Barca's transfer policy, Fernandez said: “Not just Barca, but any team looking for top quality players are getting involved in a very difficult situation in this market.
“Why? Because the market is where clubs like us want to sign top quality players. There’s no buy-out clause so that makes things trickier.
“Yes, we are negotiating with clubs to make several signings, but in all awareness of the difficulty. We need to work our way into a favourable situation and hopefully close these deals as quickly as possible.”
Following Neymar’s £198million move to Paris Saint-Germain, Barca boss Ernesto Valverde is keen to bolster his side ahead of the new term.
Most read in football
