Barcelona have said Liverpool wanted 200m euros (£183m) for playmaker Philippe Coutinho on the final day of the Spanish transfer window on Friday.
The Reds have turned down three offers from the Spanish club for the 25-year-old, who put in a transfer request."Liverpool were asking for 200m and logically we didn't accept that," said Barcelona director Albert Soler.
"We thank the player for the efforts he made, because he did make a big effort and showed he wanted to play for us."Soler, who was speaking at a news conference held by the La Liga on Saturday, added: "The situation ended as it ended and there is nothing else we can do."
Barcelona wanted Coutinho after selling his Brazil team-mate Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record fee of £200m.Liverpool said Coutinho was not for sale and rejected bids of £72m, £90m and one in the region of £114m prior to the deadline in Spain, which closed a day later than in England.
Coutinho, who scored 14 goals last term and spent six weeks out with an ankle injury, signed a new five-year deal at Anfield in January which did not include a release clause.
He then said he wanted to leave via email, a day before the Reds opened their Premier League campaign at Watford on 12 August.
A back injury has forced him to miss all three top-flight games this season and the two legs of a Champions League qualifier against TSG Hoffenheim, which the Reds won 6-3 on aggregate.
However, the midfielder made his first appearance of the season when he played for Brazil in a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, scoring the second goal.
When asked about the £183m asking price, Soler said Barcelona "don't want to get caught up in such an inflated market" and "we won't put the club at risk".
Comments :