Football Updates

Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, has ruled out a return for Philippe Coutinho, saying he hopes the midfielder "finds his luck at Barcelona".

The 27-year-old left Anfield for Camp Nou in a £142 million deal in January 2018.

But Coutinho has found it very difficult, to cement a starting spot in the Barca team or win over their fans.

The LaLiga champions are already looking to offload their most expensive signing, with Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian accusing the Catalan club of providing mixed messages for his client.

Liverpool have been linked with Coutinho, who spent four-and-a-half years on Merseyside, before he handed in a transfer request.

But Klopp had now made it clear he will not sanction such a move.

"In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still - 100%.

"It's not about that. I like Phil, I think he's a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that.

"It's just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better - us included - but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona.

"Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that.

"If everything was true what newspapers write about me - wow! If it's similar to what they write about me, I would say he's completely happy at Barcelona and wants to sign a new six-year contract or whatever," he told ESPN.