Liverpool claim the story is false.
Liverpool were adamant from the outset that they would not entertain any bids for Philippe Coutinho. Regardless of what Barcelona offered, the club would not part with their most talented player. Coutinho may still end up at Barcelona, as the player and buying club usually get their way in such a standoff, but it appears he was never close to leaving Liverpool during the summer transfer window.
Or maybe not.
According to Albert Soler, Barcelona’s sporting director, Liverpool changed their summer-long stance on Coutinho, and named their price on Friday, which was Spain’s transfer deadline day.
“Yesterday, at the last minute, after weeks of offers and conversations, Liverpool put a price on a player that we wanted,” Soler said.
“[It was] a price of €200m (£183m) and we decided not to do it. This club will not enter into this new way of understanding football. This club belongs to its members and we will not act irresponsibly. Our priority is always sporting matters, but we have to manage our finances and there are limits that you cannot go beyond.”
However, according to Chris Bascombe, football reporter on Merseyside for The Telegraph, Liverpool did not name their price for Coutinho, and Soler’s claims are false.
LFC position on Barca claims today is they are absolutely false. Not true in any shape or form.
— Chris Bascombe (@_ChrisBascombe) September 2, 2017
Barcelona tried to contact LFC owners again last night. LFC refused to engage. As they said from day one, they would not negotiate.
— Chris Bascombe (@_ChrisBascombe) September 2, 2017
Conflicting reports have been a staple of the Coutinho transfer saga. As late as Thursday, transfer deadline day in England, there were reports that Barcelona were preparing to unveil the Brazilian. At the same time, Coutinho was in Brazil for an international game, and journalists close to Liverpool were rubbishing reports that he would be leaving the club.
Barcelona are also a bit of a mess at the moment, with the board extremely unpopular after losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and allowing Lionel Messi to enter the final 12 months of his contract.
It could be argued that the Catalan club, by claiming they were quoted an extortionate price by Liverpool, were merely trying to save face after a troubled transfer window.
