Barcelona must reduce crippling wage bill if they want to sign Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho... and they plan on selling FIVE players to make room

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Barcelona's chances of landing Philippe Coutinho in January are almost non-existent unless they can reduce a crippling wage bill that currently runs at an estimated 84 per cent of their budget.

Although the club are in a position to bid €120m this January they are trying to sell up to five players to accommodate the Brazilian's salary.

Chief executive Oscar Grau announced earlier this month that the club were 'prepared' to sign Coutinho in January.

Philippe Coutinho is still a target for Barcelona but they must reduce their huge wage bill

The wage bill at the Nou Camp currently runs at an estimated 84 per cent of their budget

He had reason to be positive because he had just announced record revenue for the 2016-17 season of €708m, enabling him to put a record €897m budget for the 2017-18 season before the club's members.

But behind the impressive revenue figures lies the wage problem that many important commentators close to the club believe is currently hampering activity in the transfer market.

El Mundo Deportivo columnist Miguel Rico wrote on Thursday: 'If Barcelona don't bring the wage bill down from the 84 per cent mark, they cannot sign Coutinho even if Liverpool let him leave for free.'

Even Grau, when he declared Barcelona ready and willing to make the Coutinho deal happen, included certain nuances. He said: 'If the technical staff asks for Coutinho then we will do everything possible to satisfy those needs'. But he also spoke of 'cuts' and possible 'departures' being essential to any deal happening.

Arda Turan is top of the list of players that could leave but he is sitting on a long contract

Thomas Vermaelen has been struck down by injuries but he is another that could go soon

There are five players that Barcelona have been open to selling since the end of last season. Central defender Thomas Vermaelen, midfielders Arda Turan and Andre Gomes, winger Aleix Vidal and forward Paco Alcacer are all available but the club have been unable to move any of them.

Turan is at the front of the queue at departures. He is yet to feature for coach Ernesto Valverde this season but is sitting tight on a long and lucrative contract. There has been interest from China and from Galatasaray but the player, who cost €34m in 2015, is not interested in leaving and with a deal running to 2020 cannot be easily forced out.

The 30-year-old was linked with Arsenal in the summer but it seemed more like wishful thinking on Barcelona's part than concrete interest in a player who has never come close to justifying his price tag or the estimated €140k wages before tax that no buying club now seems to want to match.

Coutinho may still move to the Nou Camp but Barca may have to sell five players to get him

Andre Gomes was close to moving to Tottenham on loan last summer but ended up staying put

Vidal arrived at the same time as Turan and has only been slightly more successful. There are interested clubs in both the Spanish and Italian leagues but he is also tied to Barcelona to 2020 and reluctant to leave.

Vermaelen played his first competitive game for Barcelona this week – 591 days since the last time he played for them. He spent last season out on loan at Roma but his persistent injury problems have made it impossible for him to get continuity since leaving Arsenal. The 31-year-old Belgian has a contract until 2019 and Barcelona have considered the possibility of writing it off to get the talented but unlucky defender off the wage bill.

Gomes and Alcacer were both signed at the start of last season from Valencia for a combined €60m. Gomes was close to moving to Tottenham on loan last summer but ended up staying when Coutinho remained at Liverpool.

Aleix Vidal has interested clubs in both the Spanish and Italian leagues but could yet stay

Barcelona are also preparing to give Lionel Messi a huge bonus when he signs his new contract

He is the most-wanted of the five. Although most clubs appear to be more interested in a loan than matching the €30m Barcelona paid for him.

Alcacer started his first game of the season in midweek in the cup and scored in the 3-0 win. He is due to become a father for the first time in January and is not interested in moving his family outside of Spain. In La Liga, no club willing to sign him will be able to match his wages at Barcelona.

As Sportsmail reported earlier this month, Lionel Messi's new contract (signed by his father but not yet by him) includes a 'signing bonus' for staying at the club understood to be as high as €90m (£80m) and the club have a €600m (£535m) bill to pay for the renovation of the Nou Camp and surrounding areas.

The Camp Nou facelift will in part be paid for by a stadium sponsorship deal with the pharmaceutical giant Grifols that will earn the club £304m over 30 seasons if signed. And revenue continues to rise steadily year on year although the most recent figures spiked because of the sale of Neymar. But Barcelona still need to sell in order to buy and that, and Liverpool's ongoing reluctance to sell, could scupper any January move for Coutinho.