Barcelona Exec Claims Coutinho Deal “Close”

The Philippe Coutinho drama drags on, this time fueled by Barcelona’s general manager Pep Segura. This comes on the heels of the rumor that Coutinho might be willing to go on strike in order to secure a move. Because the transfer request one day before the start of the season and curious timing of a back injury wasn’t enough of a hint that he’d like to leave.

“We have to help the team with reinforcements and they will be here in the coming days,” Segura said, following Barcelona’s 2-0 loss to archrivals Real Madrid in the second leg of the Super Cup.

“We are discussing the conditions of Coutinho and Dembele, they are close. We hope they will be Barca players next season.”

This might be just an attempt to distract the fanbase who are understandably upset with the transfer window so far (we feel your pain, Barca), especially following the defeat to Madrid. But as we’ve seen with FSG, this can also massively backfire if Dembele and/or Coutinho are not wearing the famed red and blue stripes when the window closes.

These latest statements are yet another example of Barcelona insisting that a deal is imminent, as they have done repeatedly for several weeks now.

From the Liverpool side of things, there are no indications of negotiations or discussions over a third, massively improved, bid. Failing a monster bid for Coutinho, it’s hard to see Liverpool let the player go.