Coutinho reaches 100, but Barcelona won't pay Liverpool variable

Barcelona attempted to get rid of Philippe Coutinho in the most recent transfer market. They failed. The Brazilian still doesn’t fit neatly into the blaugrana starting XI and since arriving in 2018 to much acclaim - the money was huge but this was Liverpool’s perceived gem after all - it’s been one issue after another. Barça's most expensive signing continues to be a headache for them. Of the 160 million euros, €120m was fixed and €40m was in variables, which as of this week was expected to come into play.

Coutinho’s variables ruled out

If Coutinho plays in Wednesday evening’s LaLiga fixture against Rayo Vallecano, it will be his 100th appearance in the famous shirt. That milestone was believed to carry with it an extra payment of €20m being made as part of the ‘variable’ aspect of the agreement with the Anfield giants but according to Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo (MD), this is not the case.

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Their sources deny the existence of this clause and this should mean that Ronald Koeman will be able to field the creative midfielder without the cash-strapped club facing any additional outlay.

"Current executive sources and also those from the previous board of directors have denied to MD that they have to pay 20 million euros to Liverpool for [Coutinho] playing so many games," report the Catalan outlet, who point to English media getting similar confirmation from The Reds. This is good news for the club, which was already looking at paying €20 million for the Brazilian.

Coutinho, despite the difficult situation that the club is going through, has seen the departure of players like Lionel Messi and the injuries of several of his teammates (including Pedri and Dembélé), and has an opportunity to prove his value to Koeman. He is looking to build on the 99 showings to date, which are split: 22 in 2017/18, 54 in 2018/19, 14 in 2020/21 and 9 so far in 2021/22.