Barcelona could be forced to pay Liverpool a whopping $9 million if Philippe Coutinho – their own player – wins the Champions League this season with Bayern Munich.
The Spanish giants were dumped out at the quarter-finals stage of the competition thanks to an 8-2 thrashing at the hands ofBayern, with help from Coutinho who scored two late goals against his parent club.
The Brazilian playmaker has been on a season-long loan with Bayern since the start of the season, but Barcelona face having to fork out a Champions League victory clause attached to his initial transfer from Liverpool which reportedly did not specify that it had to be for them.
So if Bayern go on to win the Champions League, the Catalans will still have to pay up the $9 million – essentially paying Liverpool for their own player to help beat them.
"Coutinho is not the first loan player to score against the team that owns him and there is no great shame in that, but if he wins the Champions League with Bayern, Barcelona will reportedly owe Liverpool €5m more," wrote Guardian writer Sid Lowe.
"The Champions League victory clause attached to his €120m-plus-€40m move from Anfield – a move that happened six months later than they wanted – did not specify that it had to be for them.
"If true, they're effectively paying him to beat them, which would be so very Barcelona somehow; his goals were a suitably pitiful end."
Meanwhile, an old Coutinho tweet from 2011 resurfaced after Barca's loss, which fans are saying ironically foreshadowed Bayern's big win.
"Hi. Today we had a game against the junior team. I scored two goals. Now at home watching a movie. Bye," a 19-year-old Coutinho tweeted during his time with Inter Milan in 2011.
Hi. Today we had a game against the junior team. I scored two goals. Now at home watching a movie. bye
