Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho is set for Barcelona heartache! The Catalan giants are frustrated by the Merseyside club’s refusal to negotiate a deal and are now looking at genuine alternative options, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Barcelona’s attempts to sign the mercurial 25-year-old Brazilian international last summer floundered even after a £130m bid was submitted. It was a drama which fuelled the back pages throughout the transfer window with three incrementally larger bids submitted to Anfield.
They were still unmoved.
The Blaugrana are already briefing the media that they are not bidding anywhere near the £130m again. They claim to have been boosted by ‘just’ €144m from the Neymar Jr sale to Paris St Germain and are too ‘poor’ to add another €20-30m to their bid.
Thiago Alcantara, 26, emerged this weekend as the favourite to move to the Nou Camp this winter with Jupp Heynckes omitting him from the Champions League XI this week.
For Alcantara, it’s a chance to return home. Thiago left Barcelona in 2013 for the Allianz Arena and with his brother Rafinha still in the Catalan capital, Ernesto Valverde can pull on the family heartstrings to lure the prodigal son home.
Of course, it could also be smoke and mirrors from Barcelona to unnerve the Merseysiders into thinking they have missed out on a huge fee.
Oh, what tangled webs we weave…
