Barcelona snubbed deal for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala on numerous occasions in favour of the Liverpool playmaker.
The Italian outfit were ready to do business for a fee of £110.5million, but Ernesto Valverde refused to complete the deal.
According to Spanish broadcaster La Sexta, Juventus were happy to offload the Argentinian if Barca could meet their price valuation.
Barcelona’s vice-president met Dybala’s brother and representative in August, with a Juventus representative also involved via conference call.
During the meeting, the Catalans were told that the 23-year-old was interested in a switch to La Liga.
At this time, Ernesto Valverde was working desperately to fill the void left by Neymar’s summer move to Paris Saint-Germain.
According to reports, Barca sporting director Robert Fernandez prioritised Liverpool ace Coutinho over Dybala because he felt the Argentinian was not compatible with talisman Lionel Messi.
However, Barcelona had three bids rejected for the Brazilian midfielder before the transfer window slammed shut.
Liverpool’s playmaker was determined to secure the £138m switch to Spain and broke down in tears when he found out the move was not going ahead.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp now faces the task of integrating the wantaway midfielder back into his Premier League squad.
Barcelona endured a torrid spell in the transfer market, but they did manage to secure the signature of Ousmane Dembele for £138m from Borussia Dortmund.
Dybala has continued to fuel speculation that he could be on his way out of Juventus by changing his agent.
The Argentina international was unhappy that his move to Barcelona was not forced through by his previous representative.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United also indicated their interest in the sought-after 23-year-old.
