Barcelona give up on Coutinho transfer as Liverpool stand firm
Local newspaper The Liverpool Echo has stated that Barcelona have pulled out of any attempts to negociate further with The Reds following three failed bids for the Brazilian.
Philippe Coutinho will be staying at Liverpool. This is the unequivocal message from the local newspaper The Liverpool Echo which states that FC Barcelona have ended their attempts at signing the Brazilian playmaker following three failed bids.
Coutinho not going to Barcelona
The Premier League club, both from the mouths and written statements of various members of the senior echelons, has been clear from day one: the player is not for sale. Despite this, the continued speculation intensified and Coutinho had gone as far as handing in a transfer request to make an understandably desirable move to Spain. However, there was no buy-out clause and thus the final decision would fall to the club.
Ballon d'Or and Barça success variables
Although headline transfer sums reaching 128 million euros would have made the Brazilian midfielder the second most expensive player in football history, it was recently revealed that this was a misleading figure. The actual payment structure from Barça would have meant The Reds only received a guaranteed 89 million euros (made in four installments) and the remaining fee was based on variables including the very speculative Ballon d'Or award for the player and Barça's success in the Champions League.
Liverpool owners stand their ground
Barcelona's apparent final attempt was in laying down a deadline for Liverpool's directors to accept their last offer stating that it would be taken off the table on Sunday evening. The deadline came and went and nothing was accepted with the American owners FSG holding to their commitment to manager Jürgen Klopp and the fans. Whether they find reason to lodge a complaint against Barcelona for the disruption is yet to be seen.
They key for Liverpool now is to get their star player's head back focused on the job in hand at Anfield. Time will tell if this situation has played out well for all parties involved.
