Barcelona cannot "confirm or deny" interest in Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has refused to rule out a move for Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho.

Despite the Brazilian putting pen to paper on a long-term contract at Anfield in January, widespread reports have claimed that Barcelona are confident of signing him this summer.

Speculation has been rife that the Reds knocked back a £72m offer from the Spanish giants, who may have to match the world-record figure of £89m to get the deal done.

It is believed that Coutinho, who has been appointed captain for today's pre-season friendly with Hertha Berlin, is willing to take a pay cut to move to Camp Nou.

When asked about the rumours, Bartomeu told ESPN: "He's a Liverpool player and I have a lot of respect for Liverpool. What we do in the summer is to be very discreet about everything, so we cannot confirm or deny anything.

"More payers will come, one in midfield, definitely."

Coutinho has scored 34 Premier League goals since his arrival at the club from Inter Milan in 2013.