£72m bid from Barcelona for Superstar rejected by Liverpool: “We are not a selling club”

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has insisted the Reds are not a selling club, after turning down a £72 million offer from Spanish giants Barcelona for Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho. The Merseysiders are adamant the Brazilian will remain at Anfield irrespective of a bigger offer from the Catalans.

FC Barcelona have been linked with the 25-year-old forward, but their initial bid was immediately turned down by the Reds, who insist the playmaker is not for sale at any price. Coutinho is close friends with FC Barcelona duo Neymar and Uruguayan Luis Suárez, who moved from Liverpool in 2014, but signed a new five-year deal with the Reds only last season.

Coutinho’s most recent contract is worth about £150,000 weekly, does not include a release clause and the reds have been braced for a transfer offer from Barcelona, who see the player as a long-term replacement for ageing Andrés Iniesta.

Jurgen Klopp’s position on the playmaker is similar to Red Bull Leipzig’s stance on Liverpool long term target Naby Keïta, with the German Bundesliga outfit rejecting a £66m bid from Liverpool for the midfielder earlier in the week. The Reds, however, have continued to pursue a move for the African despite being told directly by Leipzig Chief’s that the Guinean will not be sold this summer transfer window.