Jurgen Klopp has fired a fresh warning that Philippe Coutinho is not for sale.
Barcelona remain keen on the Brazil playmaker as they are set to recoup an eye-watering £199 million from Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain this week.
Liverpool have already rebuffed a £72m approach from the Catalans and maintain that the club will not sanction any proposed move to the Nou Camp.
Klopp reiterated that stance on Monday ahead of his side’s Audi Cup participation in Munich with Coutinho currently under contract until the summer of 2022.
He said: “There is no other way to interpret it – he is not available to be sold.
“The word ‘not’ means there is no interpretation for that. It’s nothing new, is it?”
The Liverpool manager’s response to fresh speculation came after reports in Spain had suggested Coutinho was willing to take a pay cut to join Barca.
However Click Liverpool understands that no such discussions have taken place between the 25-year-old and Barcelona over a possible switch this summer.
Reds owners Fenway Sports Group have backed Klopp’s public stance and are not willing to entertain the prospect of selling Coutinho, irrespective of his price tag.
The transfer tug-of-war remains firmly weighted in Liverpool’s favour with the absence of a buy-out clause in his lucrative new five-year deal, signed in January.
That development is a far cry from the situation in the summer of 2014 when Barca were able to prise Luis Suarez away for a mandatory £65m valuation.