Coutinho in Barcelona to tie up transfer
Brazilian playmaker joins Barca in 3rd-richest deal in soccer
Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho was in Barcelona on Sunday to tie up a 160 million euro ($192 million) move from Liverpool, the third-richest deal of all time.
The swoop for the 25-yearold attacking midfielder – which contains a 400 million euro release clause – is the third-biggest transfer in soccer.
It is outranked only by Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) worldrecord 222 million euro signing of Neymar from Barcelona last year, and PSG’s capture of French striker Kylian Mbappe for a deal that will eventually be worth 180 million euros.
Rio-born Coutinho arrived at Liverpool from Inter Milan for a mere 8.5 million pounds ($11.5 million) in January 2013 and scored 54 goals for the club in all competitions, although he won no silverware during his five-year stay at Anfield.
Barcelona had tried to sign him in the summer and his departure now is a blow to Liverpool as the playmaker has just returned to top form after an injury-hit start to the season, scoring six goals in the last seven games of 2017 to put his side firmly in the Champions League places.
“It is with great reluctance that we – as a team and club – prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.”
For Barcelona, Coutinho’s signing will allow the club to move on from the bitter experience of losing Neymar to Qatar-backed PSG last summer.
Coutinho’s age is highly attractive to Barca, whose three main stars, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are all in their 30s. Iniesta, at 33, has shown signs of fatigue this season.
French media group beIN Sports reported late Saturday that Liverpool will immediately spend 55 million euros of their windfall on Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez.
Reports in England, though, said Liverpool’s main target to replace Coutinho is Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, whom Arsenal tried to sign before the season.
Coutinho played no role in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over city rivals Everton in the FA Cup on Friday. Liverpool’s winning goal was scored by Virgil van Dijk, the Dutch defender they signed last week from Southampton for 75 million pounds, one of the biggest deals in history.
Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson said his old club had probably got the better deal, and he questioned Coutinho’s decision to join Barca at this time because he will not be able to play in the Champions League for them this season having already appeared for Liverpool. Both clubs are in the last 16 of the competition.