Barcelona sign Liverpool’s Coutinho in 3rd richest deal

Barcelona, January 7 

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Philippe Coutinho finally got his wish when Barcelona agreed to sign the Brazilian star from Liverpool for ^160 million ($192 million) in the third richest deal of all time.

“Barcelona and Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho. The player will sign a contract for the rest of the season and five more years with a release clause of ^400 million,” said a Barcelona statement.

The deal for the 25-year-old attacking midfielder will be the third biggest in football after the ^222 million Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Brazilian star Neymar last year and the ^120 million that Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG from Monaco once the French player’s loan period with the Ligue 1 champions is completed.

“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,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told the club’s official website. “It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known. Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.” 

Rio-born Coutinho arrived at Anfield from Inter Milan for £8.5 million in January 2013 and scored 54 goals for the club in all competitions, although he won no silverware during his five-year stay. Barcelona had tried to sign him in the summer, but his departure is a blow to Liverpool as the playmaker has just returned to top form after an injury-hit start to the season. He scored six goals in the last seven games of 2017 to put his side firmly in the Champions League places.

Capturing Coutinho allows Barcelona to move on from the bitter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer. 

Coutinho had stayed in Liverpool on Saturday while his teammates jetted off to Dubai for warm-weather training, fuelling speculation that he was set to leave the Premier League club. He was then photographed giving a thumbs-up as he left London for Spain accompanied by his wife Aine.

Coutinho’s age is highly attractive to Barca, whose three main stars, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are all in their thirties. Iniesta, at 33, has shown signs of fatigue this season. Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson said his old club had probably got the better deal. “Will he play regularly every week at Barcelona? I’m not too sure. He could have carried on (at Liverpool),” Thompson said. — AFP

Most expensive transfers top 5

£198 million: Neymar Barcelona to Paris SG

£165m Kylian Mbappe Monaco to Paris SG

£142m Philippe Coutinho Liverpool to Barcelona

£138m Ousmane Dembele Dortmund to Barcelona

£89.3m Paul Pogba Juventus to Man United