Barcelona still owe almost €100m for Coutinho

Almost two years after completing the deal and bringing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, Barcelona still owe the Champions League holders just under €100 million for the Brazilian’s services, according to AS, who quote the 2018/19 figures released by the Catalan club as their source.

In its day, the move was perceived as a heavy blow for Liverpool, one that follows the trend of their best players leaving them in order to win trophies elsewhere, largely set by Luis Suarez who also moved to Barcelona in 2014 and Raheem Sterling who made his way to Manchester City a year later. However, Liverpool have invested wisely since by signing defender Virgil van Dijk, goalkeeper Alisson Becker and midfielder Fabinho. Jurgen Klopp’s team gained balance and went on to play in two consecutive Champions League finals, the second of which they won after dispatching Barcelona in the semi-final.

Meanwhile, Coutinho failed to make his mark for the Blaugrana, and this summer he joined Bayern Munich on loan, which puts Barcelona in an awkward position where they owe a huge amount of money for a player that has already failed to make the cut.