English Football
Barcelona sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for £142m
Barcelona’s Twitter account unveiled Philippe Coutinho with #BeBARCA
Barcelona have announced that a deal has been agreed with Liverpool for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazil international has signed a five and half year deal with the Bernabeu club and has a release clause of 400 million euros.
“We will shortly inform you of the details of the player’s arrival and presentation,” a statement on Barcelona’s website read.
The Reds are expected to receive £105m up front – a British record – for the 25-year-old Brazil international, with the rest in realistic add-ons.
The final deal will be eclipsed only by the £200m Paris St-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar last summer, and the £165.7m Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG at the end of his initial loan spell from Monaco.
Coutinho stayed behind on Merseyside while final negotiations were concluded as his Liverpool team-mates flew to Dubai for a mid-season break.
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“In the next hours we will inform you of the details of the player’s arrival and presentation,” the Spanish club said in a statement.
Liverpool rejected three Barca bids and a transfer request from the player during the summer transfer window.
The last of Barcelona’s three bids was £118m – which included add-ons totalling in excess of £30m based on Coutinho winning the Ballon d’Or and other built-in clauses.
Coutinho only signed a new five-year deal, which did not include a release clause, with the Anfield club in January.
He has a minor thigh injury and missed the club’s past two games, including Friday’s FA Cup third-round win against Everton.
Coutinho will not be eligible to play for Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 tie against Juventus, having already played a key role in Liverpool’s qualification for the knockout phase.
Reacting to Coutinho’s move, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said, “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.
“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.
“Despite that, we managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do.
❗ All the details on @FCBarcelona's new signing, @Phil_Coutinho!
🔵🔴 #BeBarçahttps://t.co/Z95VV18J5e— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 6, 2018
Jürgen Klopp offered his reaction to the news #LFC have today reached an agreement with @FCBarcelona for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho: https://t.co/9y0KtnWHpj pic.twitter.com/XVin5CIjH5
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 6, 2018
