Liverpool have again told Barcelona that Philippe Coutinho is not for sale after rejecting a €100m (£90m) bid for the Brazil midfielder. Barcelona's second offer, comprising €85m plus €15m in add-ons, was immediately rejected.
Barça returned with their latest bid for the 25-year-old on Wednesday having had an offer of €80m (£72m) rejected last month. It was met with the same response. Liverpool rejected the offer, reiterated to Barcelona they will not consider selling their influential playmaker this summer and, despite reports in Spain that a deal is imminent, consider the matter closed.
Whether that deters Barcelona from making a third offer remains to be seen, as their latest approach does reflect a confidence at Camp Nou that Coutinho is keen on making the move. Liverpool have repeatedly stated he will not be sold with Jürgen Klopp insisting last week that his club’s stance is not open to interpretation. Their position is strengthened by the five-year contract Coutinho signed only last season. That deal, worth around £150,000 a week, does not include a release clause.
Speaking to Sky Germany on Thursday, Klopp was adamant that Liverpool are committed to retaining their best players.
“Liverpool is not a club that has to sell players. That is set in stone. So what they offer in the end doesn’t matter,” he said.
“From a financial standpoint, there is no price limit to let him go. No price at which we are ready to give in. Our goal is to have the best possible team. So we want to keep our guys and add new ones. That is our plan.
“Today, no player on the planet is unsellable. But a transfer is also a question of timing and if you have the opportunity and the need to react to such a transfer.
“Also you have to ask, if you have the time to react. But just because of one request of one club, we don’t have to think about that. We are not in that situation.”
While interested in joining Barcelona, Coutinho has not agitated for a Liverpool exit and has shown no sign of doing so since the first bid was made. Klopp spoke to the forward in Hong Kong when Barcelona first formalised their interest to stress his importance to the team and reiterate the club’s determination to keep him at Anfield.
That conversation, however, came before Barcelona banked £200m courtesy of Neymar's departure to Paris Saint-Germain. They have since continued to pursue Coutinho as well as Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembélé, although claims a Barcelona delegation travelled to England this week to meet their Liverpool counterparts were inaccurate. Liverpool have had no plans to meet Barcelona to discuss Coutinho's transfer.
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