The footballing world right now r.e. Coutinho, before and after Barcelona interest:
"Coutinho is a great player, but no-way near the best. He's almost 26 and so can no longer be considered a young talent. He's a brilliant asset to Liverpool but he's too old and hasn't shown enough talent to go to a big club and become the next Iniesta, Xavi, Scholes or Zidane. He's probably worth around 70 million."
*Barcelona show the slightest hint of interest*
"Coutinho is the greatest midfielder on the planet! He's the perfect replacement for Iniesta! He's the next Zidane! Better than Neymar! He's still in his 20's and has his whole career ahead of him! He's worth 180 million! He could go to any club and build a legacy!"
So, my question to you:
Is Countinho worth 180 million euros? According to trusted sources, Barcelona plan to bid 140 million + 40 million for him over the next few days.
In my opinion, he's not worth it. Barcelona don't need any more midfielders right now (it's the one position that's full), he's no longer young, there are several much cheaper and younger options out there (notably: Arthur from Gremio) and he's certainly not worth 80 million more than Dembele (who's almost a decade younger and has shown, in my opinion, more promise). Not to mention, he'd be cup tied (having aleady played in the UCL with Liverpool this season) and Barcelona have basically already won La Liga (obviously, anything can happen, but you'd be a fool to bet against them).