Philippe Coutinho scored 14 goals last season
Barcelona have said Liverpool wanted 200m euros (£183m) for playmaker Philippe Coutinho on the final day of the Spanish transfer window on Friday.
The Reds have turned down three offers from the Spanish club for the 25-year-old, who put in a transfer request.
"Liverpool were asking for 200m and logically we didn't accept that," said Barcelona director Albert Soler.
"We thank the player for the efforts he made, because he did make a big effort and showed he wanted to play for us."
Soler, who was speaking at a news conference held by the La Liga on Saturday, added: "The situation ended as it ended and there is nothing else we can do."
Barcelona wanted Coutinho after selling his Brazil team-mate Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record fee of £200m.
Liverpool said Coutinho was not for sale and rejected bids of £72m, £90m and one in the region of £114m prior to the deadline in Spain, which closed a day later than in England.
Coutinho, who scored 14 goals last term and spent six weeks out with an ankle injury, signed a new five-year deal at Anfield in January which did not include a release clause.
He then said he wanted to leave via email, a day before the Reds opened their Premier League campaign at Watford on 12 August.
A back injury has forced him to miss all three top-flight games this season and the two legs of a Champions League qualifier against TSG Hoffenheim, which the Reds won 6-3 on aggregate.
However, the midfielder made his first appearance of the season when he played for Brazil in a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, scoring the second goal.
When asked about the £183m asking price, Soler said Barcelona "don't want to get caught up in such an inflated market" and "we won't put the club at risk".
-BBC Sport
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your Comments Here