As Liverpool try to keep hold of Philippe Coutinho and not let him join Barcelona, Jurgen Klopp recently claimed that a move for Lionel Messi is possible, thanks to the crazy spending in the Premier League. We have seen one of Barcelona’s stars, Neymar, move to Paris Saint-Germain for an incredible €222million, which is one reason why Barcelona want to deal with this loss and sign Coutinho.
Klopp believes that a club could pay Messi’s release clause, which is rumoured to be around €300million. As quoted by Goal, the former Borussia Dortmund manager said:
“It’s pretty simple. Until now it was simply seen as impossible. Then there is the list, with the release-clauses for Barcelona. Leo Messi, €300m.
“In a period of just a month that suddenly sounds possible too. That used to be an outrageous amount. They just set that amount randomly. I mean who would pay €300m. And now it simply happened.”
Klopp is right with his assessment as PSG did the unthinkable and signed one of the best players in the world by smashing the transfer record. Neymar going to France has started a chain reaction of sorts as Barcelona are trying to plug this major hole in their team.
It seems that Coutinho’s head has finally been turned after he put in a transfer request just minutes after FSG had put out a statement on the Liverpool website that the Brazilian was not for sale.
Selling Coutinho this late in the transfer window would be a blow not only to our plans for this season but would also not give us enough time to find a quality replacement, no matter how much Barcelona are willing to pay for the Brazilian.
Coutinho was not included on the team sheet for the first game against Watford which ended in a 3-3 draw, and the official statement is that he is recovering from a back injury that he picked up during pre-season.
There is speculation that the 25-year-old would not be in the side to face Hoffenheim for the Champions League qualifier and with Barca’s bid still to come in, there are genuine fears that the Brazilian would leave us in the cold.
Klopp has often stated that Coutinho is not for sale at any price and these few weeks will be incredibly tough to deal with as the rumours of the 25-year-old all but moving to Spain get better.
