Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho after Liverpool dropped '£176m asking price'
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ByEurosport
Updated 08/01/2018 at 15:32 GMT
Barcelona signed midfielder Philippe Coutinho because they were given a significant discount on the price Liverpool were asking for him in the last transfer window, vice-president Jordi Mestre said on Monday.
Philippe Coutinho stürmt ab jetzt für den FC Barcelona
Image credit: Getty Images
Coutinho became the third most expensive player in football history when he signed a five-and-a-half year contract with Barca on Monday following a £142 million deal between the clubs.
Barcelona director Albert Soler said in September the club abandoned their pursuit of the Brazilian playmaker last year because Liverpool were asking for 200 million euros (around £176m).
It seems the reduction in the asking price for the Brazilian was as much as £34 million.
"The club has always been interested in signing Coutinho, the difference to last summer is that there was a big cut in price," Mestre told reporters on Monday at Coutinho's official presentation.
"We won't state the numbers because Liverpool don't want us to, but there was a big price cut."
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