Neymar: 'Philippe Coutinho lives in great sadness'

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 01 September 2017

Neymar says that Philippe Coutinho is living in "very great sadness" amid reports that Barcelona are struggling to convince Liverpool to sell.

Neymar has claimed that his Brazil teammate Philippe Coutinho is living in "very great sadness" amid Liverpool's unwillingness to sell the playmaker to Barcelona.

The 25-year-old has reportedly been the subject of three bids, one of which amounted to £114m, from the Catalan giants, but all have been rejected by the Reds.

The Merseyside outfit have reiterated numerous times that they will not allow Coutinho to leave the club this summer, but the transfer window in Spain does not close until this evening.

Reports have claimed that Barcelona are preparing a final bid of around £138m for the 25-year-old, who submitted a transfer request last month.

Coutinho has missed all of Liverpool's five matches this season with a back injury, but he managed to play and score in the final quarter of an hour of Brazil's 2-0 win over Ecuador.

"I'm very happy that he scored a goal because at this moment he lives a very great sadness," the Liverpool Echo quotes Neymar as saying.

"He helped us to the victory. He's a great player and did very well when he came on. We were calm and patient. It was a different game to the ones we had before as they sat deep. This team is looking increasingly better at everything and we will grow more."

Coutinho signed a new long-term contract at Liverpool in January.