Philippe Coutinho has completed his transfer from
Liverpool to Barcelona for a club-record fee but
has been ruled out for around three weeks
through injury, the Spanish club announced on
Monday.
The 25-year-old Brazil international forward
signed a five-and-a-half-year contract shortly
after 1 p.m. local time, after which he was
presented to media and supporters at the Camp
Nou stadium.
Coutinho underwent his medical on Monday
morning despite a thigh problem that ruled him
out of Liverpool's last two games, following the
two clubs agreeing a deal on Saturday. The club
said in a statement: "Coutinho has an injury to
his right thigh and he is expected to be out for
around 3 weeks."
That means Coutinho is likely to miss at least
Barcelona's next three games -- against Celta
Vigo (Jan. 11), Real Sociedad (Jan. 14) and Real
Betis (Jan. 21). Barca are at home to Alaves on
Jan. 28, before playing a local derby away at
Espanyol on Feb. 4.
The transfer fee was not confirmed publicly, but
sources told ESPN FC that it would reach £142
million (€160m, $192.7m), with Liverpool
receiving £105m (€120m, $142m) up front and
the rest in performance-related add-ons.
Even the base figure would make Coutinho the
second-most expensive player in world football
behind Neymar, who left Barcelona for Paris
Saint-Germain last summer in a deal worth
€222m (£200m, $263m).
After signing the deal, Coutinho said: "I hope to
live up to all the expectations on the pitch. I'm
grateful for the effort that the directors have
made for me to be here."
He added that he wasn't at Barca to replace
international colleague Neymar: "Me and Neymar
are different players. He's a great player but we
have different characteristics and I have come
here to find my own place.
"I have spoken with Neymar, he congratulated
me. He told me about the city, about the players
and about how incredible the dressing room is. I
also spoke with Paulinho, Luis [Suarez] and they
said the same."
After donning the full Blaugrana kit for the first
time and being greeted by more than 7,000 fans
at the Camp Nou, he added: "I'm living a dream.
Thanks to everyone for coming. It's a dream for
all the players who have been here and those
who are here now. It's hard to explain, but all my
family are here to live this dream. I want to give
thanks for my reception and I hope that soon I'll
be on the pitch to live up to the expectations."
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed
that Coutinho had offers from other clubs, with
reports in recent days claiming Paris Saint-
Germain and Real Madrid maintained an interest,
but that his desire to come to Camp Nou made
the difference.
"[Coutinho] is a player that Barcelona have been
trying to bring here since last summer," Bartomeu
told the gathered media at the Camp Nou
moments after the Brazilian had signed his
contract.
"It's not been easy, but Coutinho was happy to
come here and his effort and patience has been
key in getting him here.
"We can be satisfied that one of the world's star
players has landed in Barcelona. There were other
clubs interest in him, but his desire to come here
has seen him become the latest part of [Ernesto]
Valverde's project."
Coutinho is already familiar with the city, having
spent time living in Barcelona while on loan at
Espanyol from Inter Milan in 2012, before
eventually joining Liverpool from the Italian side
for €10m the following year.
In five seasons at Anfield, where he played
alongside future Barca teammate Luis Suarez, he
has made 201 appearances and scored 54 goals,
becoming a key part of Jurgen Klopp's team.
Klopp had stressed on several occasions over the
past few months that Coutinho was not for sale
at any price despite Barca's continued interest.
However, Coutinho's desire to move to the Camp
Nou eventually paved the way for negotiations to
open between the two clubs, with Liverpool's
owners Fenway Sports Group reluctantly giving
up on keeping the Brazilian.
Speaking about Suarez's influence on his move
and his time at Liverpool, Coutinho said: "Luis a
great player, I played with him at Liverpool and I
am really happy to play with him again. He writes
to me a lot, he's a close friend and has been a
big help.
"We had a good season [at Liverpool], almost
winning the Premier League... they were good
moments...
"I would like to thank all the Liverpool fans, all
the staff and all the players for the years I lived
there. For sure, I gave everything I could.
Unfortunately we couldn't win, but I lived five
years, my family was very happy there, so I
would like to thank them and wish them all the
best."
Coutinho becomes Barcelona's fifth signing of the
season following the return of Gerard Deulofeu to
his boyhood club and the arrivals of Ousmane
Dembele, Paulinho and Nelson Semedo last
summer.
ESPN FC's Barcelona correspondent Sam
Marsden contributed to this report.
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