January 8 – The protracted transfer of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona has finally gone through with the Catalan giants paying what will effectively amount to the third highest fee of all time to land the coveted Brazilian playmaker.
Coutinho’s official presentation will be made today after a £142 million deal was finally agreed following months of negotiations. Liverpool rejected three bids from Barcelona in August.
In an interview with BarcaTV, Coutinho – who will reportedly have a €400 million buyout clause in his five-year contract but will be cup-tied for the rest of the Champions League this season – said he couldn’t wait to pay alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
“It is incredible to know that I am going to live with idols, players with a lot of history,” he said. “Footballers like Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, [Andres] Iniesta, [Gerard] Pique, [Sergio] Busquets.
Coutinho’s transfer fee is eclipsed only by the €222 million Paris St-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar last summer, and the €180 million Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG at the end of his initial loan spell from Monaco.
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