Barcelona to step up £132.7m Philippe Coutinho pursuit after 'meeting' with Liverpool star's agent

Barcelona are said to be ready to move on to the final phase of the negotiations to secure the signing of Philippe Coutinho after club officials held a productive meeting with the agents of the Liverpool star in the Catalan city earlier this week.

Sport claims in its Wednesday's front cover (20 December) that both parties discussed the economic details of the transfer with hopes that Coutinho could complete his long-awaited transfer to La Liga in time for the traditional Spanish Three Kings Day [6 January] during which the children of Spain get presents for Christmastime.

The Spanish publication reiterates that the agreement between Barcelona and the current Liverpool ace was almost done in the summer and the last meeting between the Catalans and his agents only served to ratify the amounts agreed at the time.

Coutinho, according to the report, would thus sign a five-year deal worth €12m a year in wages - equivalent to €230,000-a-week (£203,000-a-week).

Sport adds that Barcelona would need to pay a stunning €150m (£132.7m, $177.7m) fee to complete the transfer as Coutinho's agents told the Catalans officials that Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group are willing to let him go for that fee once the transfer window reopens in January.

In the summer Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said that the Catalans were forced to abandon the pursuit of Coutinho on deadline day after the Merseysiders asked them to pay €200m.

Yet, last month Sport already reported that Coutinho's agents had managed to soften the stance of Liverpool's owners FSG during several meetings held in Boston.

The new information claims that Barcelona told Coutinho's agent that they are also ready to meet Liverpool's €150m demands to give manager Ernesto Valverde a special Christmas gift.

The La Liga giants already paid €105m plus €40m in add-ons to sign Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and Sport claims that they are ready to go beyond that to make Coutinho their new club-record signing.

The Spanish publication claims that Barcelona are now drawing a plan to evaluate how to undertake such an investment as the fee wouldn't be paid up front but in different instalments.

In October club CEO Oscar Grau already said that the Catalans would be financially ready to sign the Liverpool playmaker in the upcoming January transfer window if Valverde considers his addition a priority.

"We are prepared to sign Coutinho or other players but the proposal has to come from the technical staff. We will do our best to meet their demands," Grau said during a press conference in which he revealed a club record budget for the 2017-2018 campaign of €897m.