Philippe Coutinho will refuse to play for Liverpool in the Champions League - so he is not cup-tied to play for Barcelona in the competition after the turn of the year.
That is according to Sport, who still claim that the Brazil international is still holding out for a move to Catalunya and thinks he will finally move to the Nou Camp in the January transfer window.
Coutinho was denied the chance to complete a dream move to La Liga when Liverpool rejected Barcelona's fourth and final offer of the Spanish summer window last Friday - believed to be around £150m plus add-ons - and must now face up to spending time at Anfield for at least the first half of this season.