Barcelona Ready to Listen to Philippe Coutinho Offers Amid Liverpool & Man Utd Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly 'ready to listen to offers' for Philippe Coutinho, but neither a return to former club Liverpool nor a controversial switch to Manchester United seem likely.


Coutinho has seen his dream move to Barça turn sour, after completing the transfer worth up to €160m (£142m) including add-ons in January 2018, but failing to nail down a permanent place in the team.

Philippe Coutinho

It seems that a long-term position as a replacement for Camp Nou legend Andres Iniesta hasn't worked, while he has been displaced by French winger Ousmane Dembele in the wide left role that he also initially occupied during his time in Spain.

It is perhaps telling that in Barça's last game, with Dembele sidelined, Coutinho was still just a substitute for the final minute. Ernesto Valverde instead preferred a four-man midfield with Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Arthur.

According to Goal, Barça will listen to and discuss offers in excess of €80m (£69m). It would represent a significant loss on the €120m up front price they paid for the Brazilian just over a year ago, but there are limited options in terms of clubs he could actually join.

Liverpool have been linked with a possible move for their former player, while there has also been speculation about Manchester United making a surprise bid for their once fierce rival.

Philippe Coutinho

Yet the report claims that joining any club in England is effectively off the table, with the player apparently put off after his family struggled to adapt there during his first spell.

With Barça never going to sell to Real Madrid, it therefore points to Paris Saint-Germain as the only plausible option as no other European club outside the Premier League would likely be able to afford to pay Coutinho's wages, which Goals claims are €2.3m per month.

Of Europe's remaining giants, Juventus have already committed to a big contract for Aaron Ramsey, having also signed Cristiano Ronaldo last summer. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, would also be put off by the high wages, with player salaries in Germany typically much smaller.


Source : 90min