The much anticipated transfer of Phillipe Coutinho to Barcelona from Liverpool fell through because the English club demands were untenable, the Catalans have revealed.
Coutinho was intensely linked with a move away from Liverpool this summer, with Barcelona his obvious destination, with the Reds having rejected three bids from the La Liga side.
However, Barca’s sporting director, Albert Soler has now given a deeper insight into why the deal for the 25-year-old, who handed in a transfer request at Liverpool, didn’t materialize.
“After weeks of conversations Liverpool put a price of €200m and that was why we decided to step back,” Soler said during a presser on Saturday.
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“This club and this president will not put this club’s assets at risk like that. Going into the market place with so much money, the financial demands made of us were exorbitant.
“We thank the player for the efforts he made, because he did make a big effort and showed he wanted to play for us.
“The situation ended as it ended and there is nothing else we can do,” he added.
Coutinho has not featured for Liverpool this season, following claims he was suffering from a back injury.
However, he played his first game of the season on Thursday, as he starred in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Ecuador in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Coutinho, who scored 14 times in all competitions last season, singed a new five-year contract with Liverpool in January 2017.
But in a related development, Liverpool have rejected claims by Barcelona’s sporting director they asked for €200million for Coutinho.
The Reds called claims by Albert Soler “absolutely false,” according to the BBC.
