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Barcelona are proposing a transfer fee worth about £142 million for Philippe Coutinho as they move closer to signing the Brazil forward who has rejected Liverpool’s last-ditch attempts to keep him at Anfield.
The two clubs are now in contact, via the player’s representatives, over what would be the third-biggest transfer in history. Barcelona are willing to pay about £106 million as a base figure with the remaining £36 million no longer linked to unrealistic bonus payments — such as for if he won the Ballon d’Or — as was the case in the summer when they had three bids rejected and Liverpool were not willing to sell.
Instead they would receive instalments for him making a set number of appearances for Barcelona or the Catalan club winning trophies.
Liverpool have made attempts in recent days to persuade Coutinho to stay but their difficulty is that the issue is not about money. The 25-year-old will not be swayed by the promise of a huge pay rise — even until the end of the season — because his heart is set on moving to the Nou Camp this month. Coutinho believes a deal is imminent.
Jürgen Klopp refused to offer any reassurances about Coutinho’s future yesterday, which only served to highlight the change in stance at Anfield since August when the player was not for sale at any price. Coutinho will miss tonight’s FA Cup third-round tie with Everton because of a thigh problem, and while the manager said the injury would probably clear by the time Liverpool host Manchester City a week on Sunday, he refrained from confirming that the player will still be at the club.
Klopp also refused to discuss whether he was searching for a replacement for Coutinho, although no approach has been made for Monaco’s Thomas Lemar. Instead, he was adamant that the saga would not distract a squad in the Premier League top four and in the Champions League last 16 although, of course, the wider debate is why not given that Coutinho’s departure would weaken his options.
“I am not interested in Barcelona,” Klopp said. “Sorry. What can I say about what they do? It is always the same. This year it is Phil. Another year it is somebody else. There is no moment in January when I will talk about this, that’s how it is. If anything happens to any player, Phil or whoever, we can talk about it but not before.
“The moment there is something to say, I will say it. Before that I am not part of the discussions. Really, my first job is to prepare the healthy, fit players for the next game. They are professional football players. Sometimes they are in the middle of the story and sometimes they are sat next to the guy in the dressing room who is in the middle of the story.
“This story has been around since the summer and did you at any moment get the impression this team is distracted because of rumours? No. We’re focused on what we have an influence on.”
Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu is leading the push to recruit Coutinho and conversations, via the player’s agents Kia Joorabchian and Giuliano Bertolucci, are taking place rather than bids simply being tabled — another difference to the summer.
Neymar is the world’s most expensive player at £199 million and his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappé will become the second-most expensive when his loan is made permanent for £166 million in the summer.
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