Barcelona Hit With Transfer Blow as Liverpool Star Insists He Remains Happy in England

Philippe Coutinho has insisted that he is continuing to concentrate on life at Liverpool, as transfer rumours linking him with a move to Barcelona continue to swirl. 

The Brazil international attempted to force a move to the Spanish league leaders in the summer, but Reds owners FSG steadfastly refused to sell, despite being offered a massive nine-figure sum for the 25-year-old. 

Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's friendly against England, Coutinho said: "I'm playing in one of the biggest leagues in the world. I'm always happy. But now it's important to concentrate on the national team. At the moment I am very happy with my life. Every day, I work harder than before to improve myself and become a better all-around footballer.''

Coutinho has missed Liverpool's last three matches with his second injury complaint of the season, although he insisted over the weekend that he is back to full fitness ahead of Tuesday's friendly at Wembley and the Reds' hectic upcoming fixture list. 

Looking ahead to the midweek game, he said: “England will be our first European opponent under Tite. We are looking forward to battling with them. They have a lot of quality players who operate in a top league like the Premier League. It will no doubt be a difficult encounter.”

Brazil eased to a 3-1 win over Japan on Saturday with first-half goals from Neymar, Marcelo and Gabriel Jesus putting the game out of sight well before the break before they eased off the throttle, Tite making a number of changes before Japan grabbed a second-half consolation.