Your Transfer Rumour is Bullshit: Cash Plus Rafinha for Coutinho

The already strange and unsubstantiated rumors of Philippe Coutinho’s impending departure to Camp Nou just keeps getting stranger. Now, more reports out of Spain indicate that Jürgen Klopp would be willing to let his Brazilian midfielder go in exchange for a lower-caliber Brazilian midfielder. Plus a lot of cash.

Allegedly, according to Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool were already interested in splashing between £27 million and £36 million for Rafinha, but now he could be used as a makeweight to make up the difference in valuations for Coutinho. Barcelona’s first low-ball bid of £72 million was rejected outright, and it would likely take around double that figure to bring Liverpool to the table, if at all.

This rumor should raise suspicion straight away. Not only have these Coutinho to Barca rumors been sustained wholly by made up reports so far, but player swap deals are notoriously rare and difficult to pull off.

Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona is still something that shouldn’t worry Liverpool supporters, at least not this summer. Liverpool have no reason to sell, regardless of whatever cash and unwanted players the Catalan Giants dangle in front of us. Klopp and Liverpool have made it clear that the likes of Coutinho and Emre Can are not for sale this summer—a stance that is only likely to harden with the difficulties of bringing in new players this summer.