Barca slams Liverpool’s price for Coutinho

LONDON — A leading Barcelona board member claimed Liverpool set an asking price of $238 million for midfielder Philippe Coutinho as the Catalan giant criticized the rampant inflation in the soccer transfer market on Saturday.

Albert Soler, Barca’s director of institutional relations, said the club’s beleaguered board would not put the future of the institution at risk by bending to excessive demands.

“Liverpool put a price of $238 million on a player that we wanted,” Soler said at a media conference held to explain Barca’s haphazard signing policy this summer.

Liverpool officials responded angrily to his claim and were quoted on the BBC’s website as saying it was “absolutely false”.

Barca ended the window making a slight profit on transfers after receiving a record $264 million from Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain.

We didn’t want to put at risk the heritage of the club. This is a club of 150,000 members and has to be managed with coherence and responsibility.” Albert Soler, Barca’s director of institutional relations

Despite spending over $225 million on five signings, most notably $125 million on 20-year-old French winger Ousmane Dembele, Soler said Barca wouldn’t be drawn into an arms race with the cashrich Premier League and Qatar-backed PSG.

“We didn’t want to put at risk the heritage of the club. This is a club of 150,000 members and has to be managed with coherence and responsibility,” he said.

“We won’t get involved in the game of a market that has lost its way.

“This board won’t put the club at risk. UEFA and the European Clubs Association (ECA) have to reflect and make a decision.”

UEFA announced on Friday that PSG will be investigated for a potential breach of financial fair play rules after adding ex-Monaco star Kylian Mbappe to the capture of Neymar in a deal that could rise to $215 million.

Soler dismissed claims that Barca’s status as one of the world’s leading clubs is being threatened by its inability or unwillingness to match the lavish spending of other clubs.

“We haven’t lost any international status for having common sense and not putting the financial viability of the club at risk,” he said.

Barca also insisted that fivetime world player of the year Lionel Messi will soon sign a new contract, tying him to the club until 2021.

The club announced agreement on the deal with Messi, 30, on July 5, but the Argentine has yet to formally put pen to paper.

“I want to send a message of calm to the members. There is no problem with the agreement with Messi,” Soler said of the delay.

“When the club announced an agreement it was validated by both parties.

“All that is lacking is the protocol. We expect it to soon be finalized.”