Liverpool rejects third Barcelona bid for Philippe Coutinho, €125 million

Liverpool has rejected yet another Barcelona bid for Philippe Coutinho. This time Barcelona upped their bid to €125 million.

Barcelona has made it abundantly clear they’re interested in acquiring Philippe Coutinho to replace Neymar, who was transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million.

But Liverpool has also made it clear they’re not interested in parting ways with Coutinho. Barcelona, not one to take no for an answer and with money to blow, keep upping the offer. Their third offer came in at €125 million and Liverpool once again rejected it.

It’s been a back and forth stuggle as the transfer window winds down. Liverpool ownership released a statement explicitly saying Coutinho would be with Liverpool for the next season at the very least, but it hasn’t slowed Barcelona’s pursuit.

“We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho,” Fenway Sports Group wrote.

“The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.”

Afterwards, Coutinho submitted a formal request for a transfer. With the injury to Luis Suarez and the back-to-back losses to Real Madrid in the Super Copa, pressure is on Barcelona to bolster their roster in an effort to contend.

The losses to Real Madrid prompted Gerard Piqué to say this is the first time in his Barcelona career he felt his club was inferior to Real Madrid, who have been surging and coming together remarkably after back-to-back Champions League wins, and three Champions League wins in the past four seasons.