Liverpool transfer news: Barcelona END Philippe Coutinho interest after Thomas Lemar fail

BARCELONA have ENDED their interest in signing Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho, according to reports.

Guillem Balague: Liverpool insist Coutinho is NOT for sale

Coutinho, 25, was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona throughout this summer as they looked to find a replacement for Neymar - who joined Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record £200million deal. 

The La Liga giants have already had three bids of £70m, £90m and £118m rejected by Liverpool for the Brazil international. 

And they were apparently ready with a fourth and final offer of £138m despite insisting that he is not for sale. 

The Spanish transfer market is open for another 24 hours and Ernesto Valverde is keen to bolster his ranks further in order to bridge the gap on rivals Real Madrid. 

Barcelona have ended their interest in Philippe Coutinho after Liverpool's failed attempts to sign Thomas Lemar from Monaco

But The Daily Mail say any chance of signing has now gone up in smoke following Liverpool’s failure to sign Lemar from Monaco. 

It is said the Catalan giants were convinced the Reds would sign the France international before the transfer window in England slammed shut at 11pm last night. 

And they were happy to loan out Andre Gomes to Tottenham or West Ham if Lemar made the switch to Anfield as this would have made Coutinho more available. 

But The Mail say Barca were forced into blocking Gomes’ proposed transfer to the Premier League and had to keep him as a squad player as a result of Lemar staying at Monaco. 

Philippe CoutinhoGETTY

Barcelona have ended their interest in Philippe Coutinho after Liverpool's Thomas Lemar failure

Lemar, 21, was at the heart of transfer speculation this summer with Liverpool and Arsenal both having rejected bids for him. 

However, it was only the Gunners who tried to prise him away from Monaco on deadline day after they submitted a £92m bid. 

But the player snubbed their advances in favour of staying in France with the Ligue 1 champions. 

And he put all the rumours to bed in fine style last night when he scored twice in France’s 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over the Netherlands.

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