Jurgen Klopp has warned Barcelona that Liverpool “are not a selling club” after the Catalan giants bid £72m for Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian has been linked with Barca throughout the course of last season as the the La Liga side moved their recruitment drive into top gear with former and current players praising his abilities to being “well-suited” to the Nou Camp.
The Reds earned a return to the Champions League last season and Jurgen Klopp is busy trying to fill out his squad with strength in depth so the offer for his best player is a highly unwelcome one – and one which the Reds plan to ignore.
“Yes (he is not for sale), but that’s not since this morning or yesterday, it’s not been any different,” said Klopp.
“I’m not surprised but it’s not a compliment.
“It’s not that I need it but a few people obviously see that Liverpool have a few good players. So, that’s how it is.
“But, a very important message – maybe we’re not a selling club. That’s how it is.
“We believe in working together, we believe in development together, we believe in using the basis that we want to work together, we want to make the next step together and for this we need to stay together.”
The German boss is also concerned about how his side will function without Coutinho after struggling last season when he was out injured.
“Phil is a very, very important player but we need to react better when he’s not on the pitch,” said Klopp.
“There were a few games when he was out and when he came back and he was not in the best shape and he tried to get back his rhythm.
“Phil, when he’s able to run properly then you want to have him on the pitch again. We have to be better in moments like this.
“Phil can improve, he has inconsistency, but there’s no doubting his qualities.”