“What an insult” – Liverpool fans unhappy at rumours of Barcelona’s £72m bid for Coutinho

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has told would be suitors that Philippe Coutinho is going nowhere.

The 25-year-old Brazilian international is continually associated with a move to Spanish powerhouse Barcelona, who view him as Andres Iniesta’s long-term successor, and recently lodged a £72m bid which subsequently was turned down.

As far as Klopp is concerned the playmaker is priceless and will remain at Anfield beyond this summer with the same going for his teammates.

“Yes,” he said when asked if Coutinho was not for sale, as reported by the Daily Mail.  “That is what we can say. But that is not since Thursday or this morning, It was not different to any time.

“I’m not surprised that any clubs are interested in players at Liverpool.

“A few people obviously see that Liverpool has a few good players. But it’s a very important message to make – we are not a selling club. That’s how it is.

“We believe in working together. We believe in development together. We believe in using the bases. We want to work together, we want to make the next step together and for this we need to stay together.”

Since arriving from Inter Milan in January 2013, the playmaker has transformed into one of the club’s most important players, and he’s shown why on multiple occasions in the season just gone.

Coutinho, who missed a chunk of the season due to injury, featured across 36 matches for the Reds scoring 14 goals and creating a further nine.

One of those strikes came in Liverpool’s final game of the season which resulted in them consolidating fourth spot and entering next season’s Champions League in the qualifying round.

His efforts brought his overall tally for the club to 42 goals and 37 assists in 181 appearances.