Liverpool allegedly demanded £183 million from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.
The Catalan club had attempted to prise Coutinho away from Anfield with a series of failed bids while the player himself also submitted a transfer request.
But the Reds held firm and issued a ‘definitive’ public statement that the Brazil international would not be sold at any price despite receiving a £114m offer.
Barca’s hopes of landing Coutinho failed to materialise on the final day of the Spanish transfer window with no offers forthcoming before Friday’s deadline.
At a press conference held alongside the club’s sporting chief Robert Fernandez, director Albert Soler claims that Liverpool issued a last-minute asking price.
He said: “Yesterday, at the last minute, after weeks of offers and conversations, Liverpool put a price on a player that we wanted (Coutinho).
“[It was] a price of €200m and we decided not to do it.
“This club will not enter into this new way of understanding football.
“This club belongs to its members and we will not act irresponsibly.
“Our priority are always sporting matters, but we have to manage our finances and there are limits that you cannot go beyond.”