Barcelona yesterday announced that they had agreed to sign Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in a deal reported to be worth up to 160mn euros ($192mn). “Barcelona and Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho. The player will sign a contract for the rest of the season and five more years with a release clause of 400mn euros,” said a Barcelona statement.
The deal for the 25-year-old attacking midfielder will be the third richest in history after the 222mn euros that Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Brazilian star Neymar last year and the 120mn euros that Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG from Monaco once the French player’s loan period with the Ligue 1 champions is completed. “It is with great reluctance that we — as a team and club — prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said.  “It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known. Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.”
Klopp said that he had fought to keep Coutinho on Merseyside last summer, when Liverpool reportedly turned down a £138mn deadline-day bid from Barca, but that the lure of the runaway La Liga leaders was too much for the attacker to resists. “We managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do,” added Klopp. 
Coutinho came to Liverpool following a poor five years as an Inter player that included an initial two-year loan spell at hometown team Vasco da Gama and then a year at Barcelona-based club Espanyol after failing to impress in Italy.
He flourished under Klopp following the German’s arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2015, and while he didn’t win any trophies in his time at Liverpool, he made enough of a splash to attract the interest of the world’s biggest clubs.
Coutinho’s departure now is a blow to Liverpool as the playmaker has just returned to top form after an injury-hit start to the season. He scored six goals in the last seven games of 2017 to put his side firmly in the Champions League places. Capturing Coutinho allows Barcelona to move on from the bitter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer. 
Coutinho had stayed in Liverpool yesterday while his teammates jetted off to Dubai for warm-weather training, fuelling speculation that he was set to leave the Premier League club. Coutinho’s age is also highly attractive to Barca, whose three main stars, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are all in their thirties. Iniesta, at 33, has shown signs of fatigue this season.
Reported said yesterday that Liverpool were lining up Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez to replace Coutinho, although another report in UK said the Anfield club had contacted Leicester to inform them that the reports were pure speculation. Liverpool have also been strongly linked with Monaco forward Thomas Lemar, who Arsenal tried to sign before the season.
Coutinho played no role in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over city rivals Everton in the FA Cup on Friday night. 
Liverpool’s winning goal was scored by Virgil Van Dijk, the Dutch defender signed last week from Southampton for £75mn,


World’s football biggest transfers 
Neymar, Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, 2017, £200.6mn; 222mn euros
Kylian Mbappe, Monaco to PSG, £160mn; 180mn euros (Note: to be completed in June, after current loan spell ends)
Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018, £106.4mn; 120mn euros (+ 40mn bonus)
Ousmane Dembele, Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017, £96.8mn; 105mn euros (+42mn bonus)
Paul Pogba, Juventus to Manchester United, 2016, £89mn; 105mn euros (+5 bonus)
Gareth Bale, Tottenham to Real Madrid, 2013, £85.3mn; 101mn euros
Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United to Real Madrid, 2009, £80mn; 94mn euros
Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli to Juventus, 2016, £75.3mn; 90mn euros
Romelu Lukaku, Everton to Manchester United, 2017, £75mn; 84mn euros
Virgil van Dijk, Southampton to Liverpool, 2018, £75mn; 84mn euros