Barça and Liverpool strike agreement in principle for Philippe Coutinho

Barça and Liverpool strike agreement in principle for Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho jugará finalmente en el Barça
Coutinho jugará finalmente en el Barça | sport

The final details need to be sorted but it's nearly there

Barça will pay 120 million euros plus 40m in variables

Philippe Coutinho will be a Barcelona player for the next five seasons, as long as there is no late twist in the final stages of the negotiations. 

Barça and Liverpool have reached an agreement in principle for the Brazil playmaker, worth 120 million euros fixed plus 40 million more in variables (around 10 million of the add-ons will be easy to achieve). 

It's been a struggle to get here, but Barça have finally come up with an offer which the Reds are happy with. 

Friday was another difficult day of talks, but Barça came out the other side with the beginning of a deal in place for the 25-year-old. 

Coutinho and his agents have been key in the deal, pushing Liverpool to sell and helping Barcelona get the deal done. 

The Brazil international spent the day with his family waiting for news on the transfer -- he had already commented to those close to him that he was no longer thinking about playing for Liverpool again. 

He wants to say goodbye to the supporters and then travel to Barcelona for his presentation. 

The contracts are being drawn up at the moment. It's a complicated deal and involved a lot of money, so there is a lot of paperwork to be done. 

Both Barça and Liverpool are working on finalising the deal. It's not clear when the move will be announced, but it will be soon. 

Coutinho's release clause at Barcelona will be around 500 million euros.