It’s the news no Liverpool fan wants to hear, but it appears as though Philippe Coutinho is on his way out of Anfield, with the Reds reportedly accepting a bid from Barcelona for the Brazilian playmaker.
A Barca bid for the 25-year-old Brazil international had been expected ever since the Catalan club sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a world record breaking deal, last week.
The deal that will take the former Internazionale forward to the Camp Nou is believed to be worth somewhere in the region of €90 million (£81.6 million), potentially rising to €120m (£108.8 million) with bonuses and add-ons.
It was reported yesterday that Coutinho had informed Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool officials of his desire to trade Merseyside for Catalonia and now it appears as though he will get his wish, with a delegation of Barcelona officials travelling to Liverpool to finalise a deal, last night.
The Reds are believed to have rejected an initial bid of £72 million, last month, with Jurgen Klopp informing the La Liga giants that they were wasting their energy trying to land the Brazilian as a replacement for Neymar.
However, with Barca’s transfer funds receiving a significant boost from the Neymar windfall, combined with Coutinho’s desire to move to Barca, the Blaugrana have now enabled themselves to make Liverpool an offer they can’t refuse for Coutinho, leaving Jurgen Klopp in need of a replacement for his Brazilian magician before the end of the month, with the new Premier League season kicking off, this weekend.
Coutinho made 182 appearances for Liverpool after arriving at Anfield in an £8 million deal from Internazionale, in 2012. He has scored 42 times for the Reds and will net the club, potentially, a total of £100 million in profit should the deal with Barca go ahead as planned.
SportBible.com