Barca bid to make Coutinho 8th most expensive player ever, he could replace FCB legend (not Neymar), no LFC response

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FC Barcelona have reportedly made a bid for Philippe Coutinho which would see the Liverpool star shake-up the top 10 of football’s most expensive players ever.

The Daily Mail claim that the La Liga giants have tabled an offer of €80m (£72m).

Based on a recent list of transfer fees published by GOAL.com, that figure is €25m below the world-record fee Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last summer.

However, it is high enough that Coutinho’s potential move would tie with James Rodriguez’s 2014 switch from Monaco to Real Madrid as the joint-eighth richest transfer of all time.

Liverpool have not yet responded to Barca’s bid, according to The Mail, although the newspaper suggests it will most likely be rejected.

The same publication reports that Coutinho has been identified by Barca as their desired replacement for club legend Andres Iniesta, who is about to begin what is expected to be his final season at the Camp Nou.

Coutinho would hardly be a like-for-like swap for Iniesta, though, with the 33-year-old Spaniard known for his incredible vision and metronomic passing, unlike the Brazilian, who is more explosive and direct.

Twenty-five-year-old Coutinho would arguably be a better replacement for PSG target Neymar, but The Mail insists that Barca’s interest in the Reds playmaker is not linked with the Paris club’s £196m efforts to land the former Santos man.

Current top 10 most expensive transfers, as reported by GOAL

1 Paul Pogba Juventus – Manchester United 2016 €105m
2 Gareth Bale Tottenham – Real Madrid 2013 €100.8m
3 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United – Real Madrid 2009 €94m
4 Gonzalo Higuain Napoli – Juventus 2016 €90m
5 Neymar Santos – Barcelona 2013 €86.2m
6 Romelu Lukaku Everton – Manchester United 2017 €84.8m
7 Luis Suarez Liverpool – Barcelona 2014 €82.3m
8 James Rodriguez Monaco – Real Madrid 2014 €80m
9 Zinedine Zidane Juventus – Real Madrid 2001 €77.5m
10 Kevin De Bruyne Wolfsburg – Manchester City 2015 €75m

 

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