Multiple sources in Spain are reporting that Liverpool and Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho. The deal is reportedly for €90 million (£81.6m, $105m) in base pay, with bonuses and add-ons that could hypothetically bring the deal to €120m (£108.8m, $140m).
You knew that the world transfer fee shattering deal for Neymar would have ripple effects and this is the first domino to fall.
Barca received £200.6 million ($263.5m, €222m) for Neymar, and now they have apparently started spending some of that tremendous cash infusion.
After the Neymar deal was finalized, Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp spoke out it against it saying that he hopes the transfer fee is an “exception” and not the rule. The German also questioned whether UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) protocol even has any effect on a given club’s spending power anymore. UEFA never stepped in to stop the deal, and now Klopp is seeing that global blockbuster deal having a direct adverse effect on him.
Klopp and Liverpool have maintained all along that Coutinho is not for sale, but that point seems rather moot as ESPN Deportes claims: “A delegation from Barcelona headed up by chief executive Oscar Grau travelled to Liverpool on Monday night to finalize the negotiation.”
While Klopp and Liverpool truly do not want to part ways with their best player, certain opportunities just only come around once in a lifetime, and once the heart and mind of Coutinho is made up, the move becomes inevitable.
“The Brazilian midfielder told Liverpool earlier in the day that he wanted to leave and join Barcelona,” reports ESPN Brasil.
Also, if he is to line up right behind Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Catalan club, what a great fit that would be for him. He’s already showcased just how he can work with Suarez during their 2013-14 season, in which Liverpool came up just short of winning the Premier League title.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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