Liverpool Reportedly Refuse to Deal with Barcelona After Third Coutinho Bid

In response to Barcelona’s laughably insulting third bid for Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool have reportedly said they will accept no further contact from the stricken Spanish club. It is a move that is only natural given that there appears only to be a desire to destabilise rather than strike a deal that reflects the Brazilian’s value in such a grossly inflated transfer market.

There may be some feeling that Coutinho could be snared on the cheap after picking up Luis Suárez for a bargain £65 million three years ago. Despite what some would like to believe, El Pistolero’s 121 goals in 147 games over three seasons underlines the folly for selling him for such a fee. If Liverpool were to sell Coutinho, the club could not afford to make the same mistake.

If Barcelona were to make a serious bid, Coutinho and his agent could at least point to the considerable efforts being made to sign him. Liverpool could, in theory at least, look unreasonable in the light of such an offer. However, that is not the case here. Those in positions of power at Anfield are extremely unimpressed with the conduct of the Catalan club and no longer wish to even hear from Barcelona for the remainder of the window.

This will likely not be the end of the matter, though, and some may even point out that at least Barcelona actually make bids for transfer targets while Liverpool continue to simply monitor one of their top targets. Even so, comparing one shambles with another is hardly the most enlightened of approaches. This will rumble irrespective of Liverpool’s stance and Barcelona’s somewhat derisory third bid.