Barcelona were very keen to offload Philippe Coutinho during the summer transfer window. The Brazilian was linked with clubs all around Europe, with it being clear someone was pushing stories to the press about interest from Premier League sides.
At one point, Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian spoke out, making it clear he’d been angered by Barcelona saying one thing to their faces, and then making it clear to others the Brazilian could leave the Catalan side.
In the end, the 27 year old joined Bayern Munich on loan and they’ll have the chance to sign him permanently should he impress enough in Germany. However, before that move Coutinho was offered to Manchester City.
Friday’s edition of Marca reports they’ve been able to confirm claims from Spanish radio that Barcelona offered their player to Manchester City first, but ‘Guardiola said no’.
It’s not that Pep Guardiola doesn’t rate the former Liverpool star, rather that he believed his City team didn’t need a player of that type. With their manager ‘not interested’, the Premier League champions declined the informal loan offer.
