Balagué not convinced that Barcelona can afford Coutinho

Spanish football pundit Guillem Balagué isn’t convinced that Barcelona have the funds to buy both Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho.

Balagué believes the La Liga giants have made Griezmann their primary target and that if they land him, they probably won’t be able to fund a move for Liverpool ace Coutinho.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, Balagué said: “There is talk of Barcelona bringing in both Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho, but there are few problems with these reports.

“Firstly, Barca’s wage structure accounts for over 80 percent of the club’s income. The wages are so high and they desperately need more income and that is what they are trying to work on. Until that’s secured, I don’t think they can afford both Griezmann and Coutinho.

“As it stands, Liverpool have not put a price on Coutinho, regardless of what the Catalan press are saying. With the sources behind those stories coming from within the club, it sounds like Barcelona are looking for a reason to say Coutinho was too expensive and that they couldn’t afford him.

“The figure being bandied about is €140m, it’s not true, but, of course, Barcelona can go back and say we couldn’t get Coutinho because it was too expensive but in the summer they might be able to show off Griezmann instead.”