Friday 21 July 2017 08:22, UK
Barcelona want to sign Philippe Coutinho and are prepared to pay more than £70m but sources have told Sky Sports News the player is "100 per cent not for sale".
The Brazil international signed a contract extension in January that runs until 2022 and the deal has no release clause so any sale would have to be agreed by Liverpool.
Coutinho was outstanding for Liverpool last season as he scored 13 times and added seven assists in 31 Premier League appearances.
That form has brought him to the attention of Barcelona, but Coutinho definitively shot down talk of a move to La Liga when asked about leaving Liverpool in March.
"Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour," Coutinho told ESPN Brasil.
"Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.
"I have a long contract with Liverpool. Speculation is for journalists only."
Coutinho only turned 25 last month but he is already one of the top players in the Premier League and is only getting better.
Prizing him away from Liverpool would be very expensive but Barca may have considerable money to spend if his compatriot Neymar leaves the Catalan giants for Paris Saint-Germain.
Barca have maintained Neymar, who is also 25, is "not on the market" but he has a buyout clause which Sky Sports News understands is £196m and there are widespread reports that PSG are getting ready to trigger it.
