Perhaps it’s no surprise Coutinho’s head was turned by Barcelona this summer…
Not only could he move to a sunny climate and play alongside Lionel Messi with a basic guarantee of trophies every year, but he could have more than doubled his wages, as well.
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Barcelona had agreed to pay Phil £388,461 per week, which equates to around £20.2m a year and £101m over the five years he’d be contracted.
Ludicrous figures.
The numbers have been published by Der Spiegel, who have close links to Football Leaks.
Coutinho is Liverpool’s highest earner, having signed a five-year extension in January worth around £150k/week (Times), but Barca were happy to blow that out of the water.
To the player’s immense frustration, Liverpool flatly refused to sell, and he’ll stay on Merseyside for at least another season.
We don’t sympathise with Coutinho (professional footballers on that kind of money are not hard done by whatsoever), but we can understand his disappointment.
Provided he does the business for us this term though, neither side will hold any grudges next summer.