Rumour Mongering: Reds Slap £68M Price Tag on Coutinho

Over the summer and now into the fall, Paris Saint-Germain have been continually linked with 24-year-old Liverpool attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho. We have covered it on more than one occasion.

Now, French publication Le 10 Sport, the ones responsible for the original Coutinho to PSG rumor (along with countless other Liverpool-related rumors that have failed to come to fruition), are claiming that Liverpool have slapped a £68 million price tag on the magical unicorn.

The asking price, if met, would be the fifth most expensive transfer of all time, ahead of Luis Suarez’s £65 million departure and behind only Paul Pogba, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain.

Considering Phil’s age, ability, and time left on his contract (which runs until the summer of 2020), this doesn’t seem like an unreasonable sum. Or rather, it is an unreasonable sum, but not by inherently unreasonable football transfer fee standards.

However, there is one more piece of the puzzle to consider: whether Coutinho has a release clause. Or, if he doesn’t have one now, will this be part of the negotiations if Liverpool extend his contract yet again?

Couts to PSG seems highly unlikely at this juncture and not just because of the less-than-reliable source. That said, if he continues his rich vein of form—so far 5 goals and 4 assists in 11 appearances for Liverpool—we can continue to expect rumors of clubs wanting to take away our magical unicorn.