Barcelona ‘went behind Liverpool’s back to offer Philippe Coutinho a five-year contract worth £100million’, despite being repeatedly warned-off by Reds chiefs
Football Leaks reveal La Liga giants had drawn up monster, 25-page deal for the Brazilian midfielder... dated August 31
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BARCELONA reportedly went behind Liverpool's back to offer Philippe Coutinho a five-year contract worth £100million.
The La Liga giants had been chasing the Reds' "Little Magician" all summer, with Jurgen Klopp and Co holding firm.
Liverpool bosses repeatedly told Barcelona to back off in their pursuit of Coutinho as the Catalan club saw bid-after-bid rejected.
However, the Spanish outfit drew up an incredible 25-page contract worth £100m, dated on deadline day - August 31 - as revealed by Football Leaks.
The deal would have seen Coutinho pocket £20m per year, with his agent reportedly receiving a £9m fee if he could negotiate a transfer fee of BELOW £90m.
The leaked report claims Liverpool's sporting director Michael Edwards wrote to Barcelona to tell them to back off in late July.
Edwards wrote to Barcelona board chief Oscar Grau: "Unfortunately, Philippe can not be sold at any price and, as you know, he has recently extended his contract with us."
At the beginning of August, Grau and Barcelona returned with a "significantly improved offer" - of £80m, still £10m under the "agent bonus" threshold.
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Edwards replied firmly, saying: "I would kindly ask you to refrain from showing interest in Philippe both privately and publicly.
"No sum will lead us to reverse our decision."
Ultimately, stubborn Liverpool managed to keep hold of their star Brazilian, but Barca are expected to go back in for him next summer.
