Barcelona's pursuit of Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho leaked in emails as it is revealed Spanish giants offered £100m contract and three huge bids

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Barcelona's dogged summer pursuit of Philippe Coutinho has been revealed in a series of email exchanges by German publication Der Spiegel.

The Spanish giants were desperate to add the Brazilian to their ranks following the high-profile departure of Neymar to PSG, though Liverpool held firm in one of the longest running sagas of the summer.

In the leaked information, details reveal Barcelona had guaranteed the player €115million (£102m) for a five-year contract, with €10m (£8.9m) promised to his agent should a transfer fee for the player be negotiated under the £100m mark.

Barcelona's desperate pursuit of Philippe Coutinho has been revealed in a series of emails

A move to Barcelona would have seen Coutinho comfortably double his weekly wages

The astronomical earnings promised to the player would have placed him within the elite bracket at the club, between former Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez and the Spanish stalwarts of the team including Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta. 

Working out at around €23m (£20m) per year before tax, the weekly earnings of the player would have comfortably doubled his current £150,000 per week deal at Liverpool - a sum which makes him the club's highest earner.

The information also shows Liverpool's persistence in fending off the aggressive Spaniards, standing firm on their stance of not allowing their prized asset to leave.

Coutinho would have been up there with former Reds team-mate Luis Suarez on the earnings

Liverpool would not budge and urged Barca to stop publicly courting their playmaker

Manager Jurgen Klopp has now begun integrating the mercurial star back into his first team

In an email, Sporting Director Michael Edwards wrote to Oscar Grau, the Chairman of the Board of Management of FC Barcelona, stating clearly: 'Unfortunately, Philippe can not be sold at any price and, as you know, he has recently extended his contract with us.'

Undeterred Barca returned with a significantly improved offer - a fixed up front bid of €90m (£79.7m) with €40m (£35.4m) in add-ons.

A further reply from Liverpool chief Edwards stated: 'I would kindly ask you to refrain from showing Philippe both privately and publicly... no sum will lead us to reverse our decision.'