Barcelona Reportedly Preparing £132M Coutinho Bid

Good morning. Or rather, not “good,” but it is morning. In Europe at least. And the early report from Spanish journalist Guillem Balague is that Barcelona are preparing a £132 million offer for Philippe Coutinho’s services.

"Barcelona will soon make an offer of €110+40 (million)," Balague reported. "Chairman (Josep) Bartomeu feels in debt to him for how hard he's trying to go to FCB.

"Their top players want him. LFC have changed their tone but have not put price to him. They will act when offer arrives. Which it will."

The deal is similar in structure to the one that allowed the Catalan giants to capture the signature of Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Though, it is unclear whether the €40 million (£35 million) in add-ons will be achievable, like Dembele’s offer, or essentially Monopoly money, like they offered for Coutinho this summer.

Regardless, Liverpool will likely demand far more than €110 million (£97 million) in guaranteed cash to secure Coutinho’s signature. Or at the very least, they should demand far more, and doubly so if Barca wish to push through a mid-season exit.

According to The Echo, the bid is expected to come in “imminently,” so stay tuned as the story continues to develop. Sigh.