Report: The Lengths Coutinho Went to in Order to Secure Barcelona Move

According to reports, Philippe Coutinho was so keen to force through his dream move to Barcelona, that he offered to fork out €15m of his money to go towards their transfer fee to Liverpool.

Philippe Coutinho was so keen to force through his dream move to Barcelona, that he offered to fork out €15m of his money to go towards their transfer fee to Liverpool.

The Brazilian finally completed his long-awaited move to the Spanish giants on Saturday, to the tune of €160m, and the player himself really did play a big role in the end, according to Catalan publication Mundo Deportivo.

They claim the 25-year-old will stump up €15m over the duration of his new Barca contract to his former employers, which may well have been the deal-breaker for the Reds, who fought valiantly to keep hold of their talisman last summer.

The move has been greeted by reactions of sadness and realism in equal measure by Reds supporters, and the news comes just a day after the story that Emre Can will indeed join Juventus on a free transfer in the summer.

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Some had accused Coutinho of feigning injury in order to force through his move to the Nou Camp, but others have been more accepting of the star's switch after watching him perform so well and with a good attitude in the Premier League this season.

The former Inter player dazzled for Liverpool and scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions.

Via their official website, Barca also revealed that Coutinho will have a €400m release clause in his new contract, meaning he is surely safe from being poached by another club in the next five-and-a-half years.

That may sound like an excessive number, but that's nowhere near the clauses of some other La Liga superstars, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema (£886m), Lionel Messi (£636m) and Isco and Marco Asensio (£620m).