Liverpool Ignore Barcelona’s Latest Approach for Philippe Coutinho

Yesterday, the Catalan press claimed Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona was a done deal. That a €150M fee had been agreed and that the player would join the La Liga side in January. Given the suggestion from the Liverpool end continues to be that the club isn’t interested in doing a deal, skepticism seemed the best response.

Today, it appears that skepticism may have been well warranted and that, as was so often the case last summer, the Catalan press was simply pushing Barcelona spin: telling one side of the story and casting it in the kindest, most optimistic light imaginable; reporting on a future they’d like rather than the one that’s likely.

Yesterday, it was Sport calling the deal done. Today, from Madrid-based Marca, there’s a little clarity. As they tell the tale, Barcelona have an offer and have approached Liverpool in an attempt to start negotiations over a January transfer. But much like last summer, Liverpool have so far completely ignored their approaches.

It lines up with what we know from Liverpool’s end—and fits with how we saw Barcelona operate last summer. It also serves as reminder that, in the language of the Catalan press, done deal doesn’t literally mean done deal, rather it reflects Barcelona and the club’s mouthpieces’ belief in the inevitability of the club getting its way.

If the club getting its way is simply the signing of Coutinho, they may well get their man eventually, but unless something significant changes on the Liverpool end they won’t get him until next summer at the earliest. That probably won’t stop the Catalan press claiming a deal is done a few more times over the next month.