Barcelona: Neymar hopes hit by Coutinho's Bayern loan move
Philippe Coutinho, who is set to join Bayern on a season-long loan, was a key potential makeweight in Barça's bid to re-sign Neymar.
Philippe Coutinho's loan move to Bayern Munich may well hinder Barcelona's attempts to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. As the Blaugrana look to bring down the fee PSG are seeking as part of the deal, Coutinho was among the few players the Ligue 1 champions were interested in taking in part-exchange.
According to L'Équipe, PSG's stance remains the same: in addition to receiving two Barcelona players, the Parisians want to bank at least 100m euros for Neymar, who they bought from the Camp Nou club two years ago for a world-record 222m euros. Barça had offered Ivan Rakitic and Coutinho, but the 60m-euro fee included in the bid fell well short of PSG's expectations.
Cash-strapped Barcelona left with fewer makeweights
Having already brought in Frenkie De Jong for 75m euros and Antoine Griezmann for a further 120m, Barcelona's remaining transfer budget is very limited. Indeed, there are even reports in the French media that the Catalans only have another 40 to 50m euros to spend this summer.
Now that Coutinho is on his way to Germany, the Spanish champions - who began their LaLiga campaign with a surprise 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Friday - have left themselves with fewer possible makeweights, while their purchasing power is not expected to be significantly boosted by the Brazilian's departure.
PSG keen on Dembélé, but player doesn't want to leave
If they are to get a move for Neymar over the line, Barcelona's only other alternative would appear to be the inclusion of Ousmane Dembélé in the deal. Leonardo, PSG's sporting director, is a huge admirer of Dembélé; however, the winger is eager to remain in Catalonia and make a success of his Barça career.