Quality Sport Images/Getty Images Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly made a €270 million (£238.5 million) offer to a representative of Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho in the hope that his signing will convince Neymar to stay at the club. The French giants are yet to contact Barca directly, but Mundo Deportivo (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal) reported one of Coutinho's agents has been alerted to the prospect of a potential new world-record deal. Not content with luring one Brazilian megastar from the Camp Nou, PSG are said to have revived their interest in Coutinho, whom they were closely linked with prior to his switch to Catalonia from Liverpool in January. The 26-year-old is only six months into a five-and-a-half-year contract at the Camp Nou, leaving Barca in no rush to sell, and his form for club and country has only made him a more valuable piece of Ernesto Valverde's puzzle, per Goal: According to the report, Neymar's uncertain status in Paris has caused concern with his employers, who feel signing childhood friend Coutinho would be one way to convince him his future lies at the Parc des Princes. Video Play Button Videos you might like However, it concludes by saying Barca's newest midfield gem wants to stay with the Blaugrana, which is of little wonder given the immediate success he enjoyed in La Liga following his winter switch. Only Lionel Messi averaged more dribbles per game (5.1) than Coutinho at Barcelona last term (2.6), per WhoScored.com, as the Brazilian scored eight goals and recorded five assists in 18 La Liga appearances. That form carried on to the international stage, and Coutinho looked like one of the best players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup prior to their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium on Friday. The Daily Mirror's Martin Domin wrote that PSG's interest remains despite the club already being under investigation by UEFA for a possible breach of financial fair play laws. The transfers of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combined have cost the club more than £350 million over the past year. The deal would present Barca with the opportunity to turn a swift profit on Coutinho, who cost them £142 million in January, per Domin, and has been touted as the heir to Andres Iniesta, who has left the club for Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe. Boosting the club's coffers would be the most obvious reason for Barcelona to sell their new star man. However, Paulinho's recent sale back to Guangzhou Evergrande has helped in that department, per Milanese journalist Tancredi Palmeri: As long as the player wants to remain at the club, there's little reason to believe the Blaugrana would open up to the idea of selling Coutinho at this early stage. And in any case, PSG would first need to submit the offer with the club and not just the player's representation before any negotiations could commence. Neymar's future at the Parc des Princes may not be assured as things stand, but PSG may need to seek other avenues to help persuade their Selecao star to stay.<doc-sep>Philippe Coutinho is wanted by Paris Saint-Germain. (Getty Images) Paris Saint-Germain have submitted a €270 million (£239m) bid to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, according to reports in Spain. Barca signed the Brazil international from Liverpool for £142m in the January transfer window but now have the chance to make nearly £100m on the player. According to Mundo Deportivo, PSG have not directly contacted Barcelona but submitted their world-record offer to one of Coutinho’s representatives. Barca, however, are not willing to sell the midfielder and would only allow him to leave if PSG met his €400m (£353m) release clause. Since joining Barcelona, Coutinho has made 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists. Coutinho joined Barcelona for £142m in January. (Getty Images) Coutinho is currently on holiday following Brazil’s World Cup campaign in Russia. Brazil were eliminated by Belgium in the quarter-finals last week and Coutinho admitted after the tournament that he expects criticism following his nation’s exit. ‘We wanted to go all the way to the final but we’ve given our best shot. Everyone gave everything,’ the midfielder told SporTV. ‘I’m sure will be beaten up by criticism from all sides. ‘Life goes on, that’s football. You win and you lose. ‘We’re sad because we wanted to win badly, like all Brazil. Unfortunately, we couldn’t.’<doc-sep>PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are ready to smash the world-record transfer fee after making a £239MILLION bid for Philippe Coutinho, according to reports. And they hope that a blockbuster move for the Barcelona star will persuade his Brazil team-mate Neymar to stay. 4 PSG have launched a £239million bid to sign Philippe Coutinho, according to Mundo Deportivo Credit: Mundo Deportivo Mundo Deportivo claim PSG have made the offer to Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian. The moneybags Parisian club expect to be rejected and told to meet his £354m buyout clause. In fact, they are ready to take the same approach used to sign Neymar. PSG lured Neymar, 26, from the Nou Camp to Ligue 1 after paying his £198m release clause last summer, having failed with a number of lower bids. 4 PSG hope that by signing Philippe Coutinho, Neymar will not move to Real Madrid Credit: AFP or licensors 4 Philippe Coutinho and Neymar both crashed out of the World Cup with Brazil in the quarter-finals Credit: AFP or licensors 4 Neymar has shone since his £142m move from Liverpool to Barcelona Credit: EPA The report claims Coutinho already turned down more lucrative offers from both the French champions and Real Madrid to sign for Barca from Liverpool in a £142m deal. The Brazil playmaker, also 26, shone at the World Cup but crashed out to Belgium in the quarter-final. PSG hope Coutinho's arrival would keep Neymar out of Real Madrid's clutches. He has been linked with a stunning return to La Liga with Barca's rivals - and Cristiano Ronaldo's proposed Juventus transfer would leave them with a huge void to fill. PSG could stand to lose either Neymar or £166m France striker Kylian Mbappe due to Financial Fair Play rules. Uefa's decision to close an investigation into their accounts has been effectively reopened after the chairman of the Club Financial Control Body's investigatory chamber referred the decision to the body's adjudicatory chamber.<doc-sep>
It seems that silly season has finally arrived and in some style too with news that Paris Saint-Germain have made a €270 million offer for Philippe Coutinho. According to Mundo Deportivo the Ligue 1 side are willing to throw bundles of cash in the Brazilian’s direction and have made the approach directly to Coutinho’s representatives and not Barcelona. The reason they have gone straight to the player is they believe Barcelona would simply tell them they need to pay Coutinho’s €400m release clause if they want to sign him. ¡Buenos días! ☕️ Aquí esta la nuestra portada de este #FelizLunes pic.twitter.com/gD9fL4qzxg — Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) July 9, 2018 It’s apparently the same tactic they used when trying to bring Neymar to the club. Although he resisted their initial overtures, a year later he changed his mind and made the switch. As well as having been impressed by Coutinho at the World Cup PSG also want to sign the Brazilian in order to keep Neymar happy. With Cristiano Ronaldo rumored to be leaving the Santiago Bernabeu this summer the club are fearful that los Blancos will make Neymar their top priority. It’s no surprise PSG have been impressed by Coutinho at the World Cup as he was Brazil’s star man with two goals and two assists. That followed on from a successful spell with Barcelona after finally joining from Liverpool. He helped the club win the Double and ended the season with 10 goals and five assists. Coutinho has already shown his commitment to Barcelona during his lengthy transfer from Liverpool and it’s difficult to see him having any interest in a move to the French capital.