Barcelona’s Coutinho bid rises to £142m - report

Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona seems to be inching closer and closer, but while it does it seems his price is rising too.

According to the reliable Paul Joyce at The Times, Barca are now willing to offer Liverpool an eye-watering £142 million (€160m) for the Brazilian.

The deal breaks down as an initial £106m plus £36m in variables, and would also make Coutinho the third biggest transfer in history.

The variables would be based on appearances and winning trophies and the report claims Coutinho thinks a deal is “imminent.”

After being unable to land Coutinho last summer it does seem like Barca may finally be able to pull this deal off, although they will have to spend massively to do so.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has already confirmed Coutinho will not play in tonight’s FA Cup clash with Everton due to injury, but wouldn’t talk about his future.

If Coutinho does arrive, the huge fee means Barcelona will surely have to look to offload players to balance the books.

Arda Turan and Javier Mascherano have been tipped to leave this winter but there may be more departures, if not now, then at the end of the season.

Source: Gill Clark http://ift.tt/2CVhp60