Barcelona, Liverpool agree $192 million fee for Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona have agreed to pay Liverpool $192 million for Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

The longest-running transfer saga of the season is almost over. Barcelona and Liverpool have agreed on a fee of £142 million ($192 million) for Philippe Coutinho. The player will travel to Barcelona Saturday night to finalize the move, per Paul Joyce of The Times.

The agreement brings to an end rumors that have been swirling since the opening of the summer transfer window, when Barca, long-time admirers of the player, began pursuing Coutinho as a replacement for Neymar, who left for PSG.

Liverpool were firm in their decision not to sell, and rejected several offers from the Catalan club over the summer. Their stance has softened since then, however, and they entered the January transfer window willing to part ways with the player for the right price.

That price turned out to be $192 million, which will make Coutinho the second most expensive player ever, after Neymar. He’ll move down to third on the list when PSG finalize their transfer for Kylian Mbappe in the summer.

The timing of the sale is a little strange, given Coutinho is cup-tied in the Champions League and Barcelona have built up a healthy lead in the Liga title race, but Coutinho had his heart set on a move and Liverpool decided they could afford to part ways with a player who has long had his heart set on a move.

Next: 5 replacements for Coutinho

How much they miss Coutinho — who has 12 goals and eight assists this season — remains to be seen, but the Reds have enjoyed a good start to the campaign and have performed well in the Brazilian’s absence. They also now have almost a month (not to mention a lot of money) to bring in a replacement, with Riyad Mahrez, Thomas Lemar and Julian Draxler reportedly among the options.