Philippe Coutinho Not on Liverpool's Radar as Barcelona Look to Fix Transfer Mistake
Barcelona are looking to be shot of Brazil star Philippe Coutinho, but Liverpool are unlikely to be one of the potential destinations.
Coutinho left the Reds to join La Blaugrana for a staggering £142m in January 2018, but has struggled to replicate the form that saw him dazzle in the Premier League, instead falling out of favour with Ernesto Valverde - and is now seemingly set for a premature exit from Catalonia.
McGarry claimed on The Transfer Window podcast that Barcelona are indeed eager to offload to forward this summer in a cut-price deal. However, there will be no fairytale return to Liverpool, with McGarry claiming Klopp has found a better balance in his side since the 26-year-old's departure.
“The fee I’m told that Barcelona are looking for is not the same as the one they paid Liverpool more than 18 months ago,” he said.
“They would accept around €90m for the player, accepting the loss but getting the salary off of the wage bill at the Camp Nou. [...] For those Liverpool fans who listen to us, I’m pretty certain that Liverpool’s not an option - both financially and I think that Jurgen Klopp believes he has a more balanced side now than he did when he had Coutinho in it.”
The potential exit of Coutinho from La Liga could spark a European merry-go-round, as Barcelona may seek for a sensational return to Camp Nou for PSG's Neymar, who has faced rumours of an exit from Ligue 1 since the moment he arrived - with Coutinho potentially heading in the opposite direction.
Similarly, Coutinho's exit would free up further funds for the arrival of Frenkie De Jong from Ajax, as the Spanish giants look to trim their overloaded wage bill.